Sculpture and the Land

New Milestones

Grains of Wheat, West Lulworth,
by Simon Thomas

Simon Thomas worked on the Weld Estate at Lulworth from July 1985. He said "The open grandeur of the area called me not to try and contend with it, but to make something which was on a human scale, something of an intimate nature within this very open space."

The bridleway along which the sculptures were to be placed lay between modern intensively cultivated grainfields and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), one of the earliest recorded sites for grain cropping in Britain. This detail inspired Simon to make four enlarged wooden grains of wheat to underline the 4000 year history of cultivation in the area. They were carved from a wind-blown oak tree and were put in place on the coastal downlands above Bat's Head in June 1986.

Read more in the Common Ground book NEW MILESTONES
Postcards are also available of a number of the commissions.