THE LANDMARK
Sensitive to land and place: born in form, material and presence from the majestic geography that supports it.
The Elizabeth Landmark
Impressions of The Elizabeth Landmark from various approaches.
“Our ambition is to create a long-lasting, proud landmark that will draw visitors from around the world for hundreds of years to come.”
The Elizabeth Landmark is set to be a 55m (180 feet) high landmark sculpture at Cold Law, Northumberland.
The landmark will celebrate the unity, heritage and diversity of The Commonwealth, pay respect to Queen Elizabeth II and be a destination to consider the past and the future of Britain and its place in the world.
The purpose built path from the public road east of the A68 to The Elizabeth Landmark will feature work from poets and writers from around The Commonwealth and the landmark itself will be seen from the surrounding countryside, standing at 55m tall defining the height of the adjacent Hepple Heugh Cragg.
The design, by acclaimed artist Simon Hitchens, is sensitive to its geographical location, the surrounding topography and the heritage of the location.
The site-specific nature of the landmark is significant in a number of ways:
The connection of the region to Lord Armstrong’s and Charles Parsons’ engineering triumphs are reflected in the turbine blade style of the landmark and its material - weathering steel.
The Bronze Age finds from the valley - most notably stone artefacts which have been identified as being astronomical markers of the Winter Solstice - are echoed in the sundial like aspects of the Landmark.
The weathering steel sculpture has 96 lateral fins, one for each year of the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
And the sculpture itself points southwards, towards all 54 capital cities of the Commonwealth member states.
An original drawing by artist Simon Hitchens