Sculpture Trail: The Engineer
The Engineer at Black Rock picnic area
The Engineer celebrates all the men and women who built the tunnel, the two road bridges that cross the Severn, and the sea wall that protects the Levels.
The figure is inspired by the 19th century civil engineer Thomas A. Walker, who undertook the completion of the Severn Tunnel and built Sudbrook village for the tunnel workers. The Engineer stands at the top of the old slipway at Black Rock picnic area, staring out across the water towards the Prince of Wales Bridge.
The 2.4m tall figure is fabricated from 4mm thick weathering (Corten) steel, which gives the sculpture a suitably industrial look. Corten steel is also a durable material for the harsh environment of the Black Rock location, the outer layer of rust protecting the metal underneath.
The figure is fabricated from a series of triangular facets welded together. Some of the larger facets have laser-cut text, dates and images, telling the story of the construction of the Severn Tunnel. In the figures right hand is a model of Sudbrook village and the entrance to the tunnel on a section of bridge rail railtrack.
The figure is hollow with no back, allowing sunlight to pass through the laser cut panels and cast interesting shadows onto the ground.
The Engineer was designed by local sculptor Rubin Eynon.
Gallery
Where is it?
From Sudbrook to South America
For those interested in learning more about Thomas Walker, the author Richard Clammer has written a detailed illustrated account of Walker and his nephew Charles Hay Walker. The book recounts the story of the completion of the Severn Tunnel, the development of Sudbrook village and the largely forgotten Sudbrook shipyards, alongside a detailed biography of two of Britain’s foremost civil engineers.
Visit the Lightmoor Press website for more information.
I stand, I watch,
I see, I stare.
The tide, the sea,
From here, to there
We bored, we dug,
An estuary beat.
Two foreign shores,
Now they meet
Poem inscribed into the Engineer sculpture. By kind permission of Sean Edwards
‘The Engineer’ sculpture has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.