Harrogate International Festivals, a charitable organisation delivering events of national importance in the spa town, were preparing to ‘Welcome the World’ to Harrogate for the UCI World Cycling Championships in September 2019. Along with Harrogate Borough Council, they commissioned Cult-ore Art, which is run by Harrogate Steel’s operations manager Eddie Roberts from our factory, to create a one-of-a-kind artwork sculpture to celebrate Harrogate’s spa town heritage. It was to be unveiled in the town’s iconic Valley Gardens for the opening of the event and stay in place as a long-term installation for tourists and locals to enjoy.

Working with lighting specialists Element 3, Eddie created an imposing circular steel sculpture designed to allow a light display to filter through it, creating a dramatic illumination effect for the event, which became a cultural talking point as the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Picture of the Day’ and part of The Times’ ‘News in Pictures’. The sculpture is situated at the site of 36 unique mineral springs in the gardens and Eddie’s creation honours the 100+ wells across the borough, reflecting the Magmatic and Plutonic waters flowing deep beneath the earth for 20,000 years before surfacing through vertical shafts in the strata. The carefully crafted carved out words which the light flows through when illuminated pay homage to the history and geography behind the project and required highly technical craftsmanship to fabricate.

The sculpture attracted both regional and national media coverage as well as critical acclaim from those behind the project.

“The UCI is bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the town and, with the eyes of the world watching, this is Harrogate’s chance to shine. Our beautiful town owes its fame and fortune to the large number of mineral water wells that converge in a relatively small area. For our part, we have taken the waters that ‘made’ Harrogate as our inspiration, and Harrogate 1571 is a unique celebration of our spa heritage, demonstrating that there’s definitely something in the water here in Harrogate! This is one of our most exciting projects to date, and to reach this stage has taken a lot of hard work and the co-operation. The installation has been brought to life thanks to the skills of Eddie Roberts from Cult-ore, and James Bawn from Element 3 Design.”

Harrogate International Festivals chief executive Sharon Canavar

“Whereas Rome was built on seven hills, Harrogate was built on water! Our architecture, reputation, concert halls and hotels all rose from this life-giving element. It’s the very reason why people came to the town in the first place. And when they visited many decided to make it their home too. Harrogate International Festivals is to be congratulated for this inspirational illuminating installation. And when the UCI has ridden out of town, the good news is this feature will be in situ for many months to come.”

Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson

“The Valley Gardens is a powerful magnet for visitors and residents alike, and this unique light installation will add another dimension our ‘jewel in Harrogate’s crown’.”

Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport

Cult-ore Art sculptures can be commissioned by tourism, heritage and other organisations to celebrate major events. Find out more at https://cult-ore.com/