markerstones for the millennium

Taken from the closing section of WH Auden's poem, In Praise of Limestone, these evocative and inspirational lines were intended for a particular location in Bradford Dale; a site where water can be heard emerging from the spring, running through a peaceful yet dramatic limestone landscape.

Unfortunately, permission to carve the inscription on existing stone was denied and a new position sought. The Sites of Meaning team, along with sculptor Peter Maris, agreed on a spot further along the dale, close to Smerrill Grange, high above the river but having views towards both water and an impressive limestone face.

The completed piece, comprising individual stones framed within a circle, gives resonance and specificity to each word and the poem as a whole, encapsulating a very special part of the landscape.

Sallyann Carlin