Bury Mount winners announced
The winners of an art competition for schoolchildren to mark the
completion of phase one restoration work to Bury Mount in Towcester
have been announced.
The monument has been at the heart of the town since Medieval
times, originally as a motte and bailey castle, before it became an
important area of open green space at the centre of the town.
Bury Mount is part of the wider Moat Lane project. The Moat Lane
area of Towcester is being regenerated to provide new community,
retail, leisure, food and drink, residential and commercial
facilities.
The Moat Lane project team comprising; West Northamptonshire
Development Corporation, South Northamptonshire Council and
Northamptonshire County Council, gave local schools the chance to
get involved in the exciting venture, asking pupils to design
posters on what they thought Moat Lane would look like in 2039, or
what they thought it used to look like in 1139.
The response was fantastic and the judges had a difficult task
coming up the winners but after much deliberation the following
winners were chosen:
4-7 age category
• 1st Amy / Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary
School
• 2nd Mia, Bethany, Rebekah, Sophie / Towcester C of E
Primary School
• 3rd Benjamin and Jack / Towcester C of E
Primary School
8-11 age category
• 1st Chloe / Towcester C of E Primary School
• 2nd Kellan and Stefan / Nicholas Hawksmoor Primary
School
• 3rd Charlotte / Sponne School Technology College
12+ category
• 1st Oliver / Sponne School Technology College
• 2nd Eleanor, Alice, Alanna, Laura / Sponne School Technology
College
• 3rd Amanda, Charlotte and Charlotte / Sponne School
Technology College
First prize for the age categories is a family ticket to Warwick
Castle, with the second prizes being a £30 book voucher and the
third prizes £20 book vouchers.
West Northamptonshire Development Corporation Chief Executive
Peter Mawson said: “We would like to thank all the children who
took part in the Moat Lane school arts competition - we were all
really impressed by the quality and creativity of the
pictures.”
“The future of Towcester is bright and the Moat Lane project
will enhance the town centre as part of the wider vision to
regenerate South Northamptonshire.”
The plan for Bury Mount is being delivered in two stages – phase
one started last summer and has stabilised the structure of the
monument, created a new access to the top of the mount via a ramp
and stairway, provided seating and installed an historic timeline
running up a spiral path depicting key dates in Towcester's
history.
Phase two will see the finalisation of the landscape scheme and
will include an outdoor performance space and a mosaic representing
the moat which once surrounded the Mount.
The open space provides a new venue for the town, enabling a
wide variety of events to take place, ranging from informal play to
organised outdoor events such as concerts, all in the natural
amphitheatre created by the Mount. Local community groups are
already beginning to develop ideas for events.
The space will provide the local community with a meeting point
and will become a focus for community activities. This new green
space also creates a significant heritage learning opportunity for
schools and history enthusiasts.
For more information on the project visit www.moatlane.org