Manual Ref* NFnrNOR196 Show 3 images 801
Title*

Mother and Child - Union and Wessex Streets
County Norfolk   District Council Norwich City Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Norwich  Town/Village* Norwich 
Road Junction of Union and Wessex Streets 
Precise Location On side of three-storey block of flats 
OS Grid Ref TG222080  Postcode NR2 
Previous location(s)  
Setting On Building  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Matthew Frere-Smith  Sculptor(s)   
Ray Thompson  Architect(s)   

Commissioned by

 Norwich City Council 

Design & Constrn period

 1958 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Over-life size group of Mother an Dhil

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Mother and Child  Artificial stone  Over life-size 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Norwich City Council 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: Bottom half of group is very dirty

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 The mother holds her child up close to her face. Her head is distantly inspired by non-western models and contrasts with the flowing curves of her attenuated body. 

Description (iconographical)

 The block of flats was one of the first designed by the City's architectural office under the leadership of David Percival. Its modernism is reflected in Matthew Frere-Smiths' sculpture. This was commissioned as the artist started to move away from conventional methods and subjects, a movement reflected in his 1961 work in the Earlham Road shopping Centre, NFnrNOR034 and his 1965 sculpture on the Phoenix Hotel, Dereham, NFbreED001 

Photographs

 Date taken:  16/1/2008
Date logged:  17/1/2008

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  18/1/2008

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 Information from former Norfolk County Council architect, Frank Tucker Muthesius, S,. 'Architecture since 1800' in Rawcliffe C., and Wilson R. eds, Norwich since 1550, Hambledon and London, 2004 339 Grieve, A.I in Sekules V., ed., The University of East Anglia Collection, Norwich, 1984, 88-90 

Database

 Date entered:  18/1/2008

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke