Turning Forms Sculpture Outside Marlborough School is a Grade II listed building in the St Albans local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 April 1998. Sculpture. 3 related planning applications.
Turning Forms Sculpture Outside Marlborough School
- WRENN ID
- vast-tracery-jackdaw
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- St Albans
- Constituency
- St Albans MP: Daisy Cooper (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 15 April 1998
- Type
- Sculpture
- Address
- Turning Forms Sculpture Outside Marlborough School, Watling Street, AL1 2QA
- OS grid reference
- TL 140 057
- Coordinates
- 51.73915, -0.34914
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Turning Forms is a sculpture created in 1951 by Barbara Hepworth for the Festival of Britain's South Bank Exhibition. It was moved to its current location outside Marlborough School in 1952. The sculpture is made of painted concrete and stands six feet high. It features an unusual kinetic composition, designed as a helix structure that was originally intended to turn with an electric motor, which was left at the South Bank. Hepworth conceived this work in collaboration with Jane Drew as part of her Thameside Restaurant project, and she particularly valued the opportunity to work with another woman. The constructivist design of the sculpture shows a strong connection to the work of Naum Gabo, which is uncommon in Hepworth's large-scale pieces. The sculpture is notable not only for its associations with the Festival but also for its harmonious presence in its current setting.
Local climate
Turning Forms Sculpture Outside Marlborough School sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 61% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 3 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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