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Revealed: The new statue set to appear on Colchester High Street

A statue to honour the Taylor sisters will begin its casting very soon <i>(Image: Newsquest)</i>
A statue to honour the Taylor sisters will begin its casting very soon (Image: Newsquest)

THE new statue which is set to appear on Colchester High Street, opposite the Town Hall and next to Tesco’s, is ready to be cast.

The new statue, due to appear on Colchester High Street later this year, will shortly begin to be cast in bronze after meeting its £80,000 fundraising goal.

A statue to honour the Taylor sisters, in memory of Jayne Taylor, who wrote the world-renowned nursery rhyme, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in Colchester in 1806, will begin its casting very soon.

Jane and her sister Ann were prolific writers of children’s poems. The statue of the two sisters will immortalise them in bronze, placing them diagonally opposite of the town hall on the wide pavement by Tesco’s.

The statue depicts Jane Taylor, on the left in the photograph pointing westwards towards an imaginary, twinkling star in the night sky.

The fundraising was led by Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell, who enlisted the help of master mould maker, Des Stanley and renowned sculptor, Mandy Pratt.

Gazette: Sir Bob Russell and mould maker, Des Stanley, with the new statue to appear on Colchester High Street
Gazette: Sir Bob Russell and mould maker, Des Stanley, with the new statue to appear on Colchester High Street

Sir Bob Russell and mould maker, Des Stanley, with the new statue to appear on Colchester High Street (Image: Newsquest)

Mandy was the sculptor of Colchester landmark, the statue of footballer Peter Wright at Colchester United’s former Layer Road ground.


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Des Stanley was the mould maker for the Kindertransport sculpture that was unveiled last year in Harwich, also cast at the Manningtree foundry.

The statue, which was originally made in clay last year, will be cast at the Manningtree foundry of Sculpture Services, before being installed on Colchester High Street later this year.

Sir Bob has worked extensively on the project since 2021, engineering plenty of ways to raise funds for the statues production.

Last year he set up a campaign which saw him selling customised mugs depicting the two sisters, in a limited release of 500 units, which sold out, including a few international purchases from former Colcestrians across the globe.

Sir Bob has dedicated the statue to the children of the world hoping it will become a landmark for the people of Colchester to enjoy in years to come.