Horsham: Public consulted on Shelley memorial statue

David A Annand's design depicts the poet on a chaise-longue

The public are being asked to help choose a statue to commemorate the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

A shortlist of four designs has been put forward for Horsham Park in West Sussex.

Shelley was born in Field Place in the nearby village of Warnham in 1792, while his father Sir Timothy Shelley was MP for the town.

The Shelley Memorial Project is still fundraising to pay for the memorial's installation.

In 1996, a globe-shaped water feature to commemorate the poet was installed in the centre of town, but this was removed in 2016 as it cost more than £200,000 to maintain.

The four designs are available to view and vote on online, and can also be seen at the Horsham Museum.

David A. Annand depicts the poet reclining on a chaise-longue, while Vincent Gray's offering is a hand holding a quill pen.

Vincent Gray's idea is a simple hand with a quill

Robert Ward has proposed three separate sculptors in front of mirrored surfaces.

Robert Ward's design is to reflect Shelley's enduring legacy

The Broadbent Studio's design is based on Shelley's 1819 poem Ode to the West Wind.

The Broadbent Studio's design is based on Shelley's Ode to the West Wind

David Hide, chair of the Shelley Memorial Project, said: "We are delighted we can now open the public vote for our permanent memorial to Shelley and engage more broadly with the general public to select a great public artwork, as a lasting source of pride and inspiration to our local community and beyond.

"The memorial will also celebrate Horsham's place in our national cultural heritage."

University College, Oxford, where Shelley studied from 1810 until his expulsion the following year, is also home to a memorial statue of the poet.

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