We saw this beauty in Dorking, Surrey, last year, whilst on our big European trip. We were going too fast to do anything other than do a double take ('was that a ten foot metal chicken??! Yes!'), so I was delighted to find this very detailed article about it that first appeared in Surrey Life magazine in 2007.
"RARELY has a piece of Surrey art work ruffled as many feathers as the
Dorking Cockerel. Now standing proudly on the Deepdene roundabout,
where it was erected a few weeks ago, the 10ft high sculpture has been
the cause of many a wry smile, not to mention several near-misses, as
drivers stare in wonder at the giant bird.
However, while there are those who find the quirky creature a cause
for much amusement, there are others who think it has been a monumental
waste of time and money – especially given the fact that it was the
brainchild of the local council.
It all started in 2005 when Conservative councillor and former
chairman of Mole Valley District Council, Neil Maltby, hatched the plan
for the cockerel during his year in office. He wanted to give something
back to the people of Dorking and to celebrate the bird that has long
been associated with the town.
But while he was excited about the prospect of commissioning a
massive statue of the five-toed creature, residents of the town were
less convinced. Their need for public toilets and a solution to the
summer smelly bins problems seemed more important issues for the
chairman of the council to be concentrating on.
There were also fears that council money would be used to fund the
controversial structure. Instead, Councillor Maltby used £10,000 that
had been donated by housing company Linden Homes for artwork in the town
and raised the other £13,000 through donations from businesses and
individuals equally ready to crow about the idea.
“I started off by writing to a number of people including the
chairman of the preservation society, the town centre manager and the
chief executive of the council, to ask how people felt about the idea,”
he says. “No-one told me I was crazy and I got mostly very positive
comments. The fact that I managed to raise about £14,000 in sponsorship,
from both businesses and individual contributions, I think speaks for
itself.”
There are a number of theories about how the Dorking cockerel came to
reside in the area. One conjecture is that the bird was brought into
Surrey by the Romans around AD43. Another is that the species was
already a resident in Dorking before Plautius’ army arrived. Meanwhile,
breeders in the area believe it may have been discovered by the Romans
in around AD100 when the first written references to the creature can be
found.
These days, with Dorking being less of a market town, only a few
places still breed the bird. But it stands proudly on many signs in the
area and is worn on the shirts of the football team, The Chicks. Now as
you enter the town, you can’t miss it.
“The question I get asked most about the sculpture is, ‘why does it
face the way that it does?’” continues Neil. “And the answer to that is
that I asked the sculptor which way it should face and he said
south-east because then it greets the most people coming into Dorking,
either from Reigate or Holmwood or Leatherhead, and that cockerels
always face towards the rising sun.”
The enormous effigy was created by sculptor Peter Parkinson of
Leatherhead’s Fire & Iron Gallery who were commissioned to produce
the bird. His previous town centre art work includes the Ivegate Arch in
Bradford, now used as the city’s logo, some decorative public seating
in Ringwood, Hampshire, and the ‘bridge’ roundels in Leatherhead’s High
Street.
But even for a man of Peter’s experience, putting a giant cockerel on
a busy roundabout was no mean feat. Before work could even begin, a
special shelter had to be constructed to house the sculpture while it
was being made. Keen to get every last detail correct, he also began
investigating what made the Dorking cockerel so special.
Fortunately, Headley-based breeder Lana Gazder happily offered one of
her prized birds as a model for the sculpture. ‘Glen Two’ proudly posed
for Peter in Lana’s back garden in Headley as Peter made dozens of
drawings of the spectacular creature.
He particularly focused on the breed’s fifth toe. It is this that
makes the bird unique, and where people born and bred in Dorking get the
nickname ‘five-clawed ‘un’ from.
“I liked the challenge of this commission,” says Peter, who lives in
Bordon, near Farnham. “I like doing things I haven’t done before. The
most difficult part of a job like this is the initial translation of a
two-dimensional A4 image into a three-dimensional 10ft high structure.
“Setting out the framework and getting the shape absolutely right is
always the hardest part. I was conscious throughout that I needed to get
the sculpture right in terms of the Dorking breed.
“I really wanted people who own Dorking cockerels to be happy that I had grasped its characteristics.”
The main construction of the bird began with the base, which had to
be approved by engineers. Once this was completed, Peter began on the
legs and constructed a strong, cockerel-shaped framework.
He then embarked on the lengthy process of individually hand-making
each feather and welding it to the framework. This was the most
time-consuming part of the whole project, taking many months of hard
work to complete.
“Most of my other large public artworks have been pictorial and made
of elements,” he continues. “I have created other birds, but I have not
done a figurative piece on this scale.”
When the making process was complete, just before Christmas 2006, the
steel cockerel took to the road – much to the bemusement of people
across South East England; it was spotted at several locations on the
back of a lorry.
First, it was transported to galvanizers in Kent to be protected so
that it did not corrode once on the roundabout. The giant bird was
placed in a bath of molten zinc and according to eyewitnesses looked
more like the creature of the black lagoon than a cockerel as it was
lifted away by a crane.
It was then moved back to the Fire and Iron gallery in Leatherhead to
be ‘fettled’ before it was primed and painted. This is the process used
to remove excess zinc from the surface of the sculpture to ensure a
safe, smooth finish with no sharp snags, seams or runs. The final colour
choice was a subtle silvery-graphite.
The impressive statue, already nominated for a prestigious art award,
was finally unveiled in February when around 100 people, including the
chairman Councillor Valerie Homewood and chief executive Darren Mepham
of Mole Valley District Council, local business owners and residents,
turned out to see the culmination of two years work. The high sheriff of
Surrey, Adrian White, owner of Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, and Neil
Maltby, had the honour of pulling off the white sheet from the bird’s
head.
“I was really pleased that the high sheriff was able to attend the unveiling and I thought it was a lovely ceremony,” adds Neil.
“I am delighted that it looks so good because it has been a long road from when I first had the idea back in November 2004.
“It is the task of the chairman to raise the profile of the district
and to encourage people to talk about it and the fact that the cockerel
has been in the papers for so long you have to say it has done that.”
As for the artist, who spent the best part of a year creating the sculpture, he is thrilled with the finished result.
“It is always a relief to see a piece of my work safely installed and looking good,” adds Peter
“I’m really pleased with the Dorking Cockerel – I think it looks even better than I expected in situ.
“In terms of what the sculpture will do for Dorking, I think it gives the town’s symbol the recognition it deserves.
“I hope people will grow fond of it, and that it helps put the town and its history firmly on the map.”
One thing’s for sure – it will certainly continue to raise a smile as
drivers go past. It has already had a giant balloon shaped like an egg
placed underneath it, had a learner driver label put around its neck and
had the privilege of a visit from his Royal Highness Prince Charles –
or at least a man in a Prince Charles mask.
FACTFILE: The Dorking Cockerel
Height: 10ft
Weight: Between one and two tons
Materials: Steel and zinc
Man hours: Around 10 months of work
Location: On the Deepdene roundabout at the junction with the A24
(London Road and Deepdene Avenue) and the A25 (Reigate Road)
There were traditionally five varieties of the Dorking cockerel
1 The very rare white.
2 The equally rare red.
3 The silver-grey, made popular as a show bird in the mid-19th century.
4 The cuckoo-a blue/grey bird with striped feathers and the once endangered dark.
5 And the silver-grey- the variety that has been adopted by the people of Dorking."
