Oakham: Queen Elizabeth II tribute reaches statue build phase

A statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II, believed to be England's first permanent memorial to the monarch, has moved beyond the sculpting phase.

The 7ft (2.1m) bronze statue will be placed outside Oakham Library after it was commissioned by Lord Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr Sarah Furness.

The clay model has been completed and an exact silicone mould is now being reinforced with a fibreglass shell.

The £125,000 statue will be paid for almost completely with public funds.

Queen Elizabeth II's death, at the age of 96 on 8 September 2022, followed the longest reign of any British monarch.

London-based sculptor Hywel Pratley said he had worked with clay to create a young Queen in the 1950s or early 1960s.

Mr Pratley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The pink silicone moulds around the clay to produce an exact copy of the clay model, but of course silicone rubber would never stand up on its own, so it requires a fibreglass 'shell' to completely surround it and hold it up."

The fibreglass is applied in manageable sections, eight at the front of the statue and another eight at the back.

The individual statues of the Corgi dogs also have the same treatment.

"Now that we've completed the fibreglass it will take several days to go off completely," the sculptor said.

"Then it is cast in wax before we are off to the foundry for the first trial bronze pouring next week."

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