Romsey Charter Stone

Romsey and District Society

(Romsey Coat of Arms) Please only use this link to Romseynet homepage if you have reached this page from another Internet link

5. Selection of artists invited to submit ideas - winning local support

All members of the team participated in the search for suitable artists, those based reasonably close to Romsey being preferred. Trips were made to see public works of art already in place, and there were visits to art exhibitions and searches of the Web. One of the exhibitions visited was at Roche Court in Wiltshire where the team found some attractive work by Norfolk-based Gary Breeze and it was soon discovered that he already had one of his works in Romsey at The Sir harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum (picture inset). At Roche Court, Lady Bessborough encourages young artists by providing them with facilities and allowing them to exhibit their works of art in the extensive grounds around the house.

Gary's plaque at The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum

6. Competition at King John's House
Next, maquettes were ordered from the two competing artists. These were built into an exhibition which included descriptive text by the artists and photomontages and sketches of the works in situ. At this stage, the artist’s names were not revealed in order to avoid any local bias – they were referred to as Artist A and Artist B.

The exhibition (picture inset) was displayed in King Johns House in July 2005 and later in Romsey secondary schools. Questionnaires and pens were provided so that people could give written responses stating their preferences and reasons for their choice.

Over 300 people completed the questionnaire. The winner was Gary Breeze with a majority of two-to-one. Rod Hoyle is well known in the town and the team was very sorry to lose him. However, he was later asked to design and produce a plaque to accompany the Charter Stone. Not surprisingly, this turned out to be a work of art in itself.

7. Exhibition at Romsey Heritage Centre

As part of the process of involving local people in the project, another exhibition was made up which described the purpose and concept of the Charter Stone together with some other examples of work by Gary Breeze who had won the competition. It also displayed the fine maquette he had made. This exhibition (picture inset) was placed in the Heritage Centre window (Church Street) throughout the summer months. It had been intended to put the exhibition in Romsey library and other places but the long exposure to full sun in the Heritage Centre window took its toll on the artwork and this was not possible.

TOP
Romsey Charter Stone
sections 5-7