Lord Byron sculpture unveiled in Seaham

Mr Gross said the figures are facing different directions in reference to their brief relationship

A sculpture of poet Lord Byron and his wife has been unveiled in Seaham.

The 9ft-tall wooden figures depict the Romantic poet and Annabella Milbanke dancing at their wedding at Seaham Hall in 1815. The couple separated in 1816.

Given a permanent home between Byron Place Shopping Centre and Church Street, the public art was created by local artist David Gross.

Historian Carol Hindmarch said the time Byron spent in the town 200 years ago was "very important" to the area.

She said: "Although Lord Byron wasn't in Seaham for a particularly long length of time, whilst he was here he wrote some of his most important pieces.

"He wrote what was called the Hebrew Melodies... I'm sure he was probably inspired by the landscape while he was here for some of that writing."

Born George Gordon Noel, Byron was the ideal of the Romantic poet but also gained notoriety for his scandalous lifestyle.

He died in Greece in 1824 and his body was brought back to England to be buried at his ancestral home in Nottingham.