Hunt for Cleckheaton’s lost work of art

The sculpture is a font cover in bronze and was made by Ronald Pope in 1964 for one of the town’s churches.

The family are appealing to anyone that may know the whereabouts of the missing bygone bronze piece.

Tony Hubbard, husband of Ronald Pope’s daughter Jane, said: “Ronald created well in excess of 500 sculptures in his lifetime, but the one which we know the least about is the Cleckheaton piece.

“We know what the sculpture looked like and that it was made on behalf of one of Cleckheaton’s churches, but unfortunately the clues run cold after that.

“He also created a sculpture for Pontefract General Infirmary in 1963.

The Pontefract steel sculpture is based on the nursing symbol of a snake entwining a staff - sadly, we’ve no idea of its fate either.”

The sculptor, originally from Derbyshire, travelled all over the country creating major works, including St Catherine of Siena’s church bell tower crucifix in Sheffield, and the Hertford-based

Five Bishops piece - made to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the founding of the English Church.

To raise awareness of UK sculptural heritage, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PSMA) in conjunction with Art UK, has started a catalogue programme for publicly displayed sculptures.

The PMSA has become aware quality public sculptures within the UK are disappearing at an alarming rate.

If you have any information about the Cleckheaton sculpture, Tony Hubbard can be contacted via: [email protected].

Alternatively, Derby Museums on: 01332 641901