The Market Site Statue Project for Sturminster Newton was promoted by The Rotary Club of Sturminster Newton to mark their 60th anniversary in May 2004.

In October 2003 the Sturminster Newton Rotary Club proposed that a statue should be erected on the site of the old market place, not only to commemorate the market operation but also to look to the future of the town. The proposal was enthusiastically supported by both the Town Council and the community group, SturQuest and a Statue Project Steering Group was set up under the able chairmanship of Rotarian Joe Casey.  An exhibition portraying the history of the market site was held at the community office with `suggestion sheets' for the design of the statue provided for visitors.

The very strong local support for this project was instrumental in obtaining a positive result to our approach to the Arts Council for funding. The statue commission was advertised and through a selection process, four artists were asked to produce a miniature statue of their proposals. A public meeting to discuss the project was held, with the largest attendance ever recorded at Sturminster Hall.

Following this meeting an exhibition of the four designs was mounted which gave the public the opportunity to vote for their choice of statue. By popular choice the winner proved to be the `The Market Column' by Peter Griffin.   Click here to learn more about the artist.

Peter Griffin will be completing his commission on site over the next few months.  Peter has specifically made the point that he welcomes visitors for a chat and to watch him at work and see the statue come to life. It is our statue so do come and watch history being made.  If you cannot visit in person then click here and keep up to date on our weblog.