Phil Townsend

Entrance features

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Title:  ‘The Aclet’

Location:  Entrance to the Woodhouse Estate, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, 2008

Materials:  Buff Sandstone, Stainless Steel, Ceramic Tiles 

Description:  This sculpture was commissioned to act as the centrepiece of a small area of re-landscaped municipal gardens which act as a gateway into a large post-war housing estate. Its theme was taken from a prominent public house, standing behind the gardens, which is called The Aclet, meaning small Oak tree. A huge pair of cupped hands, carved on both sides of two tapering blocks of stone, hold between them a young oak plant, symbolising regeneration and care for the environment. Set into the sides, and the plinth, are over a hundred ceramic tiles made on the theme by local children and adults in a series of art workshops.