Many people will have driven past but next time they should stop and stare, because a five-year public arts project in Crosshouses has created some truly memorable pieces.
The scheme to create functional art in Cross Houses began five years ago when the old workhouse and cottage hospital site was cleared for housing. Two local artists, Ruth Gibson and Huw Powell Roberts, came up with the idea of using materials from the old hospital to create lasting sculptures in the village and the final piece – a public bench – has just been unveiled.
With their innovation are the artists.
Funding for the innovative Benchart project was granted by the former Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and the national Arts Council. More than £35,000 was ploughed into the scheme which involved commissioning artists and sculptors, and running a number of workshops in the village to generate ideas and pass on skills and interest in the arts.
The final pieces, two bus shelters on either side of the A458, are quite unlike any other bus shelters on suburban Shrewsbury streets, they were designed and built by Ruth and Huw, and two timber benches were carved by local craftsmen Ivan Williams and Clinton Challinor. There will also be a number of smaller pieces created as a lasting memento to Benchart. It is hoped a poem created by villagers at a dedicated poetry workshop will also be displayed in the village.
Ruth said interest from the community has been very positive and the workshops surpassed all expectations with many of the pieces being incorporated into the new structures in the village.
“The project started with a series of workshops to look at the history of the village in connection with the old hospital and workhouse,” she said.
“The project has been running for five years and we’ve had regular workshops to get the community involved, up to 25 people attended each one which is fantastic.
“Many of the ideas have been incorporated into the final designs and that includes pieces from a two-and-a-half-year-old up to a 75-year-old. It really has been a community project.”
Ruth said the whole aim of Benchart was to preserve a part of the village’s former workhouse and community hospital.
As it was being demolished materials were gathered which have gone into creating the new pieces.
“We gathered the materials from the demolition and the bus stops and benches are essentially made from reclaimed materials,” said Ruth.
Tortured souls
“The hospital was a workhouse originally and a lot of souls passed through there.
“Many people lived and died in the workhouse, and many were born in the former maternity hospital.”
The heads in the baskets element of the bench, which is situated in the centre of the new housing development, has been designed to represent the tortured souls who lived and died in the workhouse as a lasting legacy to them.
“Many of the faces are slightly haunted but the overall effect is not like that,” said Ruth. “People in the village have been very welcoming, there’s been a tremendous amount of interest.”
Ruth said there was a small amount of funding left for the smaller pieces including a brick book of how Benchart was created and rolled out. It will be put next to the bus shelter.
“If we can get ongoing funding it will be good to keep the arts project going in the village because we do get requests for more workshops.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re really pleased with the final products,” she added.
Benchart itself is now being rolled out in other areas after Ruth and Huw received commissions and interest based on the Cross Houses project.
For more information on the scheme visit www.benchart .org.uk or visit Cross Houses and take a look for yourself.
by Anna Williams