"Humourous" cow sculpture among 9 Coventry sites aiming for special cultural status

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"Humourous" cow sculpture among 9 Coventry sites aiming for special cultural status

Postby dutchman » Fri Jul 29, 2022 1:48 am

Coventry residents will be asked for their thoughts on the 70-year-old sculpture in Bull Yard

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A "humorous" sculpture of a cow and knight could soon be officially recognised as an important feature of Coventry. Popular artwork 'Sir Guy and the Dun Cow' in the city's old Bull Yard dates back to around 1952 when it was put in to "humanize" the centre.

The 70-year-old work is one of nine historic sites in Coventry nominated as Locally Listed Heritage Assets. Achieving this status with Coventry City Council gives a site protection with regards to future planning applications.

Building works must improve or preserve the feature and their conservation is a material consideration in planning decisions. "The council will try to protect locally listed heritage assets, and will work to find suitable uses which help protect them," the authority's website states.

READ MORE: Revealed: True meaning behind Coventry's hidden public art treasures

"Demolition of a locally listed building in a conservation area will need conservation area consent." A tobacconist, a 19th Century car factory and the former Empire nightclub are some of the other places in the city up for recognition as a heritage asset.

David Welsh, the council's housing and communities boss, will be asked at a meeting on July 28 to open a six-week public consultation on all nine sites. After the consultation closes, officers will report on the views of Coventry residents and give their recommendations at another Cabinet meeting.

Sir Guy and the Dun Cow was the first public artwork commissioned by Donald Gibson for Coventry city centre after the Second World War. It shows legendary Sir Guy of Warwick battling with the Dun Cow monster as his future bride Felice looks on.

Local sculptor Alma Ramsey made the artwork out of painted plaster of Paris. Other iconic Coventry landmarks including the Lady Godiva clock and the Martyrs Mosaic were also installed around this time.

"Sir Guy & Dun Cow's humorousness and faux-medieval character contributed to its popular appeal," states the council's assessment of the sculpture. "This consideration of public art was an integral element of Gibson's vision for the new city to create points of interest and humanise the new environment.

"In addition, he attempted to ground Coventry's citizens in the local region and its history by these means."

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Re: "Humourous" cow sculpture among 9 Coventry sites aiming for special cultural status

Postby dutchman » Fri Jul 29, 2022 1:55 am

dates back to around 1952

The Barracks Market still occupied the Bull Yard in 1952, the modern shops didn't open until 1965.
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