King's College Cambridge makes fresh bid for Turing memorial statue

Cambridge University's King's College has made another bid to erect a statue of wartime codebreaker Alan Turing in its grounds.

The college said it was keen to make some form of public acknowledgement of Turing and his relationship with the university and the city.

Plans for a steel memorial were halted in 2020 after concerns from Historic England.

It said the historic surroundings of King's College would be "threatened".

A new application to place a sculpture in the grounds of King's College has been submitted to Cambridge City Council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Turing studied mathematics at the university and was elected to a fellowship at King's College after he graduated.

During World War Two, Turing worked with a team at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire to create a codebreaking machine - and was awarded an OBE in 1945 for his contribution to the war effort.

In the early 1950s, Turing was prosecuted for being gay and he died in 1954.

The government apologised for his treatment in 2009, and Turing received a Royal pardon in 2013.

The proposed sculpture has been designed by the contemporary artist, Antony Gormley, who created the Angel of the North.

King's College said: "Antony Gormley's sculpture is designed to reflect both Turing's brilliance and his vulnerability."

In response to an application submitted in 2020, Historic England raised concerns that a sculpture in the grounds could harm the significance of the college.

It said: "In this context the addition of such an eye-catching sculpture in a prominent location would erode the character which contributes to the significance of the college."

A suggestion by a councillor to change the planned location, from within the college grounds to the front on King's Parade, was rejected by the college.

It said this would not meet its aim to "honour" Turing's position and influence within the college community, and could risk the sculpture becoming an "isolated icon".

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