Father Courage is a Grade II listed building in the Canterbury local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 January 2016. Sculpture. 7 related planning applications.
Father Courage
- WRENN ID
- last-corner-elm
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Canterbury
- Constituency
- Canterbury MP: Rosie Duffield (Ind)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 19 January 2016
- Type
- Sculpture
- Address
- Father Courage, University of Kent, Kent, CT2 7NZ
- OS grid reference
- TR 141 599
- Coordinates
- 51.29826, 1.06989
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Father Courage is a sculpture created in 1960 by F E McWilliam, located outside the Gulbenkian Theatre on the University of Kent's Canterbury campus. The bronze sculpture stands approximately two metres tall on a square concrete plinth. It resembles a primitive totem or idol, depicting a seated asexual figure. The body is elongated with sloping shoulders, and the limbs are minimally suggested, primarily through the drape of a robe or gown that hints at the thighs and knees. The figure has a slender neck topped with an oversized, wedge-shaped head that is largely featureless, except for round, bulging eyes. The bronze surface is rough, a texture achieved by pressing objects into the clay model before casting. A small plaque on the plinth identifies the work as 'FATHER COURAGE' OR 'BAAL' 1960 / F.E. McWILLIAM C.B.E., A.R.A. / (1909 - 1992).
Local climate
Father Courage sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 52% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 14 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 7 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 — 7 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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