Bronze Statue of Dove, Bradford on Avon
The Mayor of Bradford on Avon, Vicky Landell Mills unveiled "Millie", as the sculpture is affectionately known, on Saturday 22nd January 2000. Millie was designed and produced by sculptor John Willats in response to a national competition organised by Bradford on Avon's Town Council. The sculpture features elements symbolising all three millennia. The stone base symbolises the first millennium of Bradford on Avon's history. The conical part of the base, in the form of a half-buried Roman amphora, suggests Bradford on Avon's Roman origins. On one side of the stone drum on the conical base are two angels, similar to those in the Saxon church, acknowledging Christian foundation of the latter half of the first millennium. On the other side of the drum is carved a gudgeon, the emblem of Bradford on Avon and its river. On either side of the fish are the words of the town's unofficial motto 'Sub Pisce - super Flumine' (under the fish and over the water). The bronze figure is of a mill girl "Millie", who symbolises Bradford on Avon's long association with the wool and cloth trade. She represents the spirit of the second millennium. In her left hand she carries a distaff and a spindle hangs from her waistband. She also represents Clothe, one of the three Greek Fates, who respectively spun out, measured and cut off humans' lives. The English word 'cloth' derives from her name. The passing of time is thus represented by her spinning. Millie's dress, with its high waistband, suggests the eighteenth century, as does the terraced garden, the period of Bradford on Avon's greatest prosperity. From its base to the bird's wings, the sculpture is 14 feet high ( metres). The girl is life size and is cast in bronze, 6mm thick. She weighs about two-fifths of a ton (350kg). The stone base is carved in macroporous oolitic limestone quarried from a mine at nearby Limpley Stoke. To secure the sculpture in position, it has a stainless steel tie rod, 32mm in diameter, through thre
Size: 5120px × 3407px
Location: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
Photo credit: © Élan Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: avon, bradford, bronze, dove, girl, mill, statue
