Story and pictures by Rosy Burke The Fine Lady is now nearly complete in clay in a warehouse in Leek, near Stoke-on-Trent. The impact is great when you first see the sculpture - it is suprisingly romantic, mysterious, graceful and very impressive.  | | Even the smallest details are being worked on carefully |
The Fine Lady sits sidesaddle, with long graceful flowing robes and her hair tumbling down her back. She wears a cloak with a hood and her hair is garlanded with spring flowers - research by the sculptors shows she may originally have been a queen of the May. The elegant and muscular horse is full of energy, as if momentarily reined in. It has a fantastic flick of tail swept to the side.
It is absolutely beautiful. The nursery rhyme will be inscribed around the base of the plinth on which the sculpture will stand, looking towards Banbury Cross itself. The bronze will be stained so the horse is white.  | | The pattern on the robes is picked out in wax |
It is being created by three scultors who work under the name Artcycle. They were responsible for Stoke's famous statues of Sir Stanley Matthews. When I saw the model it was almost complete, ready to be cut in to sections for the moulds to be taken. The whole will eventually be cast in bronze and reassembled. It will stand approximately 15 feet tall - one-and-a-quarter times life size - not counting the plinth. We are almost halfway there with the appeal - we have raised £75,000 and need to raise the same again. I can't wait to see her in place and see people's faces - I am sure she will be famous far and wide. | Banbury Town Mayor is holding a race night for the statue appeal on the evening of Friday, April 25 in the Town Hall. Tickets are available from Banbury Town Council on 01295 250340. |
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