Doncaster living sculpture of woman pays tribute to Lost Gardens of Heligan

If you go down to a Doncaster wood this summer you’re sure of a big surprise – a living sculpture of a sleeping woman which pays tribute to the world famous Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall.

The 30ft mud maiden, called Flora the Pitwood Princess, has been created from flowers and rocks on the site of the former Yorkshire Main colliery site in Edlington.

She’s modelled on the original Mud Maid sculpture by Sue Hill at the famed gardens near Mevagissey in the west country.

Spokesperson Simon DeLount said: “Whereas she’s all green, ours is in full colour and she’s there to represent the rebirth of the area from black coal slag heaps to colourful wildflower meadows.”

He added: “I first came up with the idea of creating Flora whilst I was on a litterpicking walk around the Edlington Pit Wood.

“There was a large scrubby mound where the original Doncaster Council landscapers had scraped the surface off and dumped all the larger boulders and bits of tarpaulin etc and this had been overgrown by various shrubs and plants, chiefly hawthorn, briar and nettles.

“I saw potential in this as a natural raised platform in an otherwise flat, flower meadow and an idea started forming

“It was once the site of the Yorkshire Main collliery spoil heaps and washing ponds.

“It was a blackened, desolate landscape largely devoid of nature in any form.”

Then in 2005, 20 years after the pit closed down it was sold for a nominal fee to the council so they could return the site back to be a greenspace once again, after almost 100 years of industrial usage.

“In Cornwall there is an enchanted place called the Lost Gardens of Heligan where you will find the original mud-maiden’.

“She is a large female form lying on the ground and covered in green mosses all year round.

“So I took the idea one step further and thought that I, along with help from some volunteers and others including the ladies from Plantaura CIC & students from Sir Thomas Wharton Academy, could build our own version of her but in full colour.

“To me it was like a metaphor to graphically illustrate the rebirth of the lands transformation from nature -through 100 years of industry – and now back to nature.

“I believe the Edlington community may have lost some of its pride and sense of direction since the pit closed in those dark days of the mid 1980s, but I hope now with projects like this and others too right on our doorstep we might start to feel hopeful again of a brighter future for us and especially our children.

“The Edlington Pitwood is a wonderful place with lots of things to see and enjoy, you can lose yourself in nature whether it’s just to walk your dog or to let your kids stretch their legs and unwind – you’ll hopefully come back with smiles on your faces.”