Calne Curiosities: The 'Two Pigs' Purloined

A grievous incident occurred in the early hours of 2 October 2017. This act so shocked the town of Calne that a nationwide media campaign was immediately undertaken.

For many places, the theft of a sculpture may not have caused much of a fuss. However, Calne, even while it is a growing town, is still a close-knit community.

The sculpture, known as 'Two Pigs' has been around for many decades, so what was the end goal with this theft?

Let us begin with a brief history of Calne's earliest, and perhaps most beloved, piece of public art.

The origin of this tale begins with local artist, Richard Cowdy and his purchase of the old Guthrie school in 1973. After developing a foundry at the site, Cowdy became known as a sculptor of farm animals.

Outside of The White Horse pub, now Coral bookmakers at Phelps Parade, a planter had been constructed. Each time a tree had been planted, it had been destroyed by the rowdy clientele, with the planter filled with broken glass and rubbish. In 1978, Cowdy was approached by Dr Arnold Hare, chairman of Calne Civic Society with a proposal for a sculpture to replace the tree and resolve the litter issue. 

In 1978, Cowdy was approached by Dr Arnold Hare, chairman of Calne Civic Society with a proposal for a sculpture outside of 

Cowdy cast a small version two pigs in bronze as a visual cue for the proposal.

While residents, both adults and children alike, enjoy the sculpture - a permanent reminder of Calne's long association with the Harris bacon company, in its many forms - this wasn't always the case.

The sculpture required consent the of Calne Town Council before it could be installed. One particular councillor was strongly against the sculpture, fearing that young children would be attracted to it and run over by vehicles. It's safe to say that as a town we are fortunate that this councillor was unable to make the final meeting. She had the flu and the sculpture was voted through by just one vote!

The final design, known as 'Two Pigs', installed in July 1979 and unveiled by Lady Lansdowne, resolved the litter problem and is a vandal-proof sculpture. Or so we all thought...

 

2 minutes and 45 seconds. This is the time it took on that fateful night in 2017 for the sculpture to be wrenched off the plinth that they'd adorned for 38 years.

The town awoke to the news on the 2 October 2017 that the sculpture had been stolen. It was impossible to avoid the news, it was, thankfully, everywhere.

Due to such good news coverage, the owner of Ronson Reclaim, a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire, called the police to report that he had purchased the pigs before realising the sculpture was the one stolen from Calne.

On the 6 October, the two pigs were picked up by Calne Town Council. Work on the plinth commenced soon after by Calne Council Ground Staff who upgraded the method of fixing the statue to the plinth. The base of the statue was repaired by Andy Blackford of Blackford Engineering free of charge.

The afternoon of 10 November saw the Calne Pig sculpture was back in place. Marketed as the 'Pig Unveiling', the sculpture was unveiled by Tony Trotman, Mayor of Calne, at 4pm, with Richard Cowdy in attendance. The unveiling was completed with masses of applause and the pigs were climbed upon my multitudes of children, as they had been innumerable times in the past. This presentation also featured a specially written piece of music performed by Calne Folk and Acoustic Group after the speech by the Mayor.

 

It would seem that the lads involved through that the sculpture was solid bronze. Such a sculpture would have been worth a pretty penny. However, the sculpture is hollow.

What of the lads that were involved? PSCO Mark Cook, of the Calne Community Policing Team was involved in the case and won the Assistant Chief Constable’s Certificate of Recognition for his initial investigative work into the theft. PSCO Cook provided an update of the police outcomes in this case.

While four males were believed to be involved in the theft, two were let off without further police action after questioning as there was not enough evidence to confirm involvement.

The other two, from the Swindon area, attended court. One received a fine of £433, the other £283 (and ordered further compensation of £67), both included court costs and compensation.

 

The theft of the pigs not only reignited the passion for this and other sculptures in town, but seems to have reignited a passion for public art in the town. Many ceramics and murals have been designed and installed in the years following this petty criminal act.

 

Many thanks to PSCO Mark Cook for providing the update on police outcomes. Thanks go to the whole Calne Community Policing Team for the excellent work they do for the town.

Timeline Calne: July 1978, 'Two Pigs' Sculpture unveiled by Lady Lansdowne

1978
     The story of the pigs begins as Richard Cowdy is asked by Dr. Arnold Hare, the chairman of Calne Civic Society, to produce a sculpture to replace a tree which had been destroyed outside of The White Horse.


July 1979
The full size version of the sculpture took Richard Cowdy 8 weeks.
Michael Hadrell assisted Richard Cowdy to install the sculpture, which was cemented in place.
The cost of the sculpture, £148, to cover the metal, was covered by the Civic Society.
The sculpture was unveiled by Lady Lansdowne, with a speech by Cllr Frederick Eley, the Calne Town Mayor as the time.

 
1/10/2017-2/10/2017
     Calne pigs wrenched off their plinth overnight by use of a vehicle in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
4/10/2017
     The owner of Ronson Reclaim, a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire, called the police to report that he had purchased the pigs before realising the statue was the one stolen from Calne.
6/10/2017
     The statue was picked up by Calne Town Council. Work on the plinth commenced soon after by Calne Council Ground Staff who upgraded the method of fixing the statue to the plinth. The base of the statue was repaired by Andy Blackford of Blackford Engineering free of charge.
10/11/2017
     The Calne Pig statue was back in place and unveiled by Tony Trotman, Mayor of Calne, at 4pm. The unveiling was completed with masses of applause and the pig was climbed upon my multitudes of childen, as he had been so many times in the past. This presentation featured a specially written piece of music performed by Calne Folk and Acoustic Group after the speech by the Mayor.

Welcome to Calne: Boundary Signs

During January 2018, new boundary signs were installed to replace the signs that had been in place in the 1980s, and will be discussed further down this article.

Our new boundary signs sprang to life as an idea by Heavenly, a consultancy firm hired to formulate ideas that could bring Calne to life (brand positioning) during late 2014. Out of this came the idea for an A4 tourist route, a 125 mile route connecting many iconic sites, this became known as The Great West Way. A working group was set up to look at the Wiltshire section of this route and from this a decision was made to replace the entry signs for Calne.

This project included assessing other signs around the country and getting quotes for different options. It was decided to have a continuity with the Wiltshire boundary signs and to use the Calne town colours of gold and green to match the internal signs in the town.

The branding of 'Town of Discovery' was chosen because of the people, events, discoveries, and industry that have had such a massive impact on the town over the years.

John Skinner, Calne Our Place treasurer, was the driving force behind the new boundary signs and, quite rightly, won a Civic Award from Calne Town Council for his work on this project. Thank you to John for many of the details in the above article.

Previous Boundary Signs

I am told, by word of mouth, that these boundary signs were the result of a school compatition in the 1980s. The designs were then installed at the boundaries of Calne at that time.

While this sign is clearly very different from our modern sign, they are typical of the time, but also have some very interesting features, such as in the photo above, where the Calne Coat of Arms can just about still be seen, but is very faded.

In the photographs below, we can see Calne town hall and St. Mary's church. While this was never particularly visible, a close inspection is rewarding.

Additionally, underneath the writing is an image of our famous 'Two Pigs' sculpture, which was visible and a reminder of Calne's past economic activities. 

I have to say that the plan worked on me. I find the new signs bold, vibrant, and to be honest, a bit posh! Driving to Chippenham and Melksham emphasises, to me, how much this project was needed and just how well it has been executed.

I very nearly didn't get any photographs of the old sign because I always thought, "oh, I can photograph it any time", then the boundary signs changed and I thought all was lost! This one is currently stored at Calne Heritage Centre, which I saw just by chance while visiting for a different reason, and can be seen during their opening hours.


Great West Way Resources:
Great West Way
Great West Way: 2015 Update

Calne Pigs returned and reinstated

The events of October and November 2017 are well and truly in the past and it feels like the pig statue was never gone. Unveiled to great fanfare on November 10th at 4pm by Mayor Tony Trotman, the new gravel surround looks very smart and the repair job completed by Andy Blackford looks well done.

Below I have created a concise timeline of events, further details can be gained from reading my previous posts about theft and recovery of the statue (listed at the bottom of the page). Following this is an excellent video created by Pete Stedman.

Timeline of Events:
1978
     The story of the pigs begins as Richard Cowdy is asked by Dr. Arnold Hare, the chairman of Calne Civic Society, to produce a sculpture to replace a tree which had been destroyed.
1/10/2017-2/10/2017
     Calne pigs wrenched off their plinth overnight by use of a vehicle in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
4/10/2017
     The owner of a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire called the police to report that he had purchased the pigs before realising the statue was the one stolen from Calne.
6/10/2017
     The statue was picked up by Calne Town Council. Work on the plinth commenced soon after by Calne Council Ground Staff who upgraded the method of fixing the statue to the plinth. The base of the statue was repaired by Andy Blackford of Blackford Engineering free of charge.
10/11/2017
     The Calne Pig statue was back in place and unveiled by Tony Trotman, Mayor of Calne, at 4pm. The unveiling was completed with masses of applause and the pig was climbed upon my multitudes of childen, as he had been so many times in the past. This presentation featured a specially written piece of music performed by Calne Folk and Acoustic Group after the speech by the Mayor.




Previous posts on this story:
3/10/2017
     'Two Pigs' Statue stolen from Phelps Parade, Calne
6/10/2017
     Calne Pigs Recovered

10/11/2017
     Calne Pigs: Pig Unveiling!

Additional Sources:
The Story of Calne's Pigs - As told by Richard Cowdy. Available free of charge from Calne Visitor and Information Centre.

Calne Pigs: Pig Unveiling!

The statue, covered, ready to be unveiled: 

Calne Pigs Recovered

Us Calne residents had a shock earlier in the week when is was discovered that the 'Two Pigs' statue had been stolen from their plinth in Phelps Parade (further details here). Yesterday afternoon (5 October 2017), Wiltshire Police reported that the statue had - thankfully - been recovered.

In their statement, Wiltshire Police thanked the owner of a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire. The owner of the yard promptly called the police after recognising the statue, on a television appeal about the theft, as one sold to him earlier in the week.


A 17 year old boy has been arrested in connection with this theft and other offences. It will be interesting to see what else we can discover about the theft in due course.[1]


Since the theft, there has been a mobile CCTV van in the town, as seen in the photograph below, looking after our sheep statue.

A news report on the evening edition of BBC Points West on October 3 featured an interview with Rochard Cowdy the sculptor of the pig statue (and coincidently the sheep statue above), said that while he doesn't have the original mould, he could easily model it again. Luckily that won't be necessary now that the statue has been recovered, especially as Mr Cowdy no longer has a foundry, meaning that a new statue would have needed to be cast in Basingstoke, which would have increased the cost to a few thousand pounds. The estimated value for the current pig statue, which is hollow, was around £200 - it would be interesting to know how much money changed hands between the thief and the reclamation yard owner.


As of this afternoon, October 6 2017, the pigs are now on their way back to Calne Town Council, who are working to get the statue base repaired, and then reinstated as soon as possible,  after the plinth is modified[3][4]:


I for one can't wait for this statue to be reinstated in its rightful place. As I mentioned in my previous post about this theft, children, including my own son, like to play around on the statue. This time when my son does that, I'm going to take a photo to treasure along with my memories.

Updated to add: There's a detailed news report on the Gloucester Live website available here.


References: 
[1] Bronze pig statue stolen from Calne has been recovered. 2017. Bronze pig statue stolen from Calne has been recovered. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/appeals/4189-bronze-pig-statue-stolen-from-calne-has-been-recovered. [Accessed 06 October 2017].
[2] BBC Points West, 2017 [TV]. BBC 1 West. 3th October.18:30.
[3] Calne Town Council. 2017. In Facebook Calne Town Council. Retrieved October 6, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/CalneTC/posts/1482445948510061
[4]
BBC Wiltshire. 2017. In Facebook Calne Town Council. Retrieved October  7, 2017, from
https://www.facebook.com/BBCWiltshire/videos/839130292923096/

'Two Pigs' Statue stolen from Phelps Parade, Calne

The Two Pigs sculpture. Photo Credit: Rodhullandemu.

I was saddened when my wife returned home from shopping and told me that the much loved 'Two Pigs' statue had been stolen from Phelps Parade sometime the previous evening.

Wiltshire Police report that the statue was taken sometime between the evening of Sunday 1 October and the early hours of Monday 2 October.[1]

Calne Town Council CCTV [2], run by volunteers and when unmanned runs on a pre-set patrol, have given the police the CCTV coverage of the area and the police have been reviewing the footage. Two CCTV cameras recorded the theft, which only took 2 minutes and 45 seconds, suggesting (to me, at least) a level of premeditation to this theft. The statue was wrenched off and carried to a vehicle, Tony Trotman, the current Mayor of Calne commented [3]. The mayor also write in a Facebook comment that the statue was "cast in hollow form and the bronze is not to be thought as an expensive material in scrap terms". The police are asking anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.[4,5]

In an attempt to reduce the likelyhood of other pieces of Calne public art being stolen, a jointly funded Wiltshire Police CCTV van will be deployed into the town centre for the foreseeable future.
 

The aftermath. Photo Credit: Lucy Havenith

Some History

The bronze statue was placed in Phelps Parade in 1979. It replaced a birch tree which was planted in 1973 upon the completion of Phelps Parade, the same year that the centre of Calne became a conservation area. The tree didn't last long [6], but I had just assumed that this statue would be here for a time long enough to be considered 'forever'.

The statue was commission by the Calne Civic Society (sadly no longer with us) as Calne's first piece of public art. It was made by a prolific local sculptor, Richard Cowdy, who also created the sheep bronzes outside of Sainsbury's in the town along with having a hand in creating most of the public art in Calne.

 This statue was created as remeberance of the town's history with the Harris bacon business. The business evolved from a family butchers in the late 1800s to  become a major employer in Calne, employing up to 2000 people and processing 5000 pigs at its peak. Recession and competition (from Danish industry) had a massive effect on this business and the loss of major customer, M&S, lead to the factory closing. It was demolished in 1984 to make way for the redevelopment in the town, which lead to the development of Beach Terrace and the library.

What will happen now? 

At the time of publishing this post, the police are progressing enquiries. In the long run, it's doubtful that our town will get back our beloved and unique bronze pig statue. I can only hope that they will be replaced by a replica or something that will bring just as much joy to the residents of the town. Whether this will be done by the Town Council, a benefactor, or by public subscription, who knows?

I'm lucky that my last memory of this statue is my 2 year old son sitting on the statue and pretending to ride the pig as a horse, as I'm sure many had done in the past. But, sad to know that this is the past and won't happen again. 

Perhaps it is time to leave the past behind. Calne has come a long way since the days of Harris and is more resilient since those days. - Who am I kidding: We want our pigs back.

I hope you will enjoy this video about the bronze pigs by Pete Steadman via YouTube:

 
An exciting update to this story can be seen here.
Post updated: 24/04/2018 with additional photographs. 

References and Notes: 


[Photograph] File:CalnePigs.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. 2017. File:CalnePigs.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. [ONLINE] Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CalnePigs.jpg. [Accessed 03 October 2017].
[1] Theft of pig statue from Phelps Parade, Calne. 2017. Theft of pig statue from Phelps Parade, Calne. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/4175-theft-of-pig-statue-from-phelps-parade-calne. [Accessed 03 October 2017]. 
[2] Calne Town Council. 2017. In Facebook Calne Town Council. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/CalneTC/posts/1479990152088974
[3] Tony Trotman. 2017. In Facebook Calne Town Council. Retrieved October 3, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/CalneTC/posts/1479990152088974?comment_id=1480097768744879&notif_id=1507041561739254&notif_t=feed_comment
[4] BBC News. 2017. Bronze pig sculpture stolen from Wiltshire pork pie town - BBC News. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-41467016. [Accessed 03 October 2017].
[5] The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 2017. Tribute to Harris Bacon company been stolen from Calne | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15570496.Bronze_pig_statue_stolen/. [Accessed 03 October 2017].

[6] A photograph of the tree in place can be seen in Calne's Heritage by Peter Treloar, page 126. ISBN: 978 0 7524 5144 2. Available to loan from Wiltshire library and to buy online.