Locals fork out £15,000 to save horse sculpture in Norfolk
Sculpture paying tribute to horses that pulled Norfolk lifeboats until the 1930s is rescued by locals raising £15,000 to put it on permanent display
- Lifeboat Horse by sculptor Rachael Long was installed in Wells-next-the-Sea
- That was last year as part of an art exhibition celebrating the town’s history
- Since October, after it was taken down along with the other installations
A harbour sculpture that pays a vivid tribute to a coastal rescue service from a bygone age has been saved – thanks to civic pride.
The Lifeboat Horse by sculptor Rachael Long was installed in the harbour of Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk last year as part of an art exhibition celebrating the town’s history.
The 10ft-tall structure made from steel bars and old whisky barrels was created to remember the real-life horses which, until 1936, would pull the town’s 33ft lifeboat two miles from its quay to Holkham Gap.
The ‘Lifeboat Horse’ sculpture by Rachael Long stands on the mud flats during low tide at Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk
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Since October, after it was taken down along with the other installations, the sculpture has been in storage, awaiting return to its creator.
But the people of Wells were so enchanted with the Lifeboat Horse they have now raised the £15,000 to buy it from Long and re-install it as a permanent exhibit.
It will soon be re-erected in the same place in the harbour as it stood last year so it is fully visible at low tide and submerged as the tide rolls in.
The ‘Lifeboat Horse’ sculpture by Rachael Long is covered by the incoming tide
Wells harbour master Robert Smith said people were ‘desperate’ to see the sculpture stay in the town, adding: ‘One local child donated their last £1.
‘I can’t believe people’s generosity.
‘It’s been quite humbling.’
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