The Symbol of Discovery is a Grade II listed building in the Chichester local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 January 2016. Sculpture.
The Symbol of Discovery
- WRENN ID
- silent-fireplace-azure
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Chichester
- Constituency
- Chichester MP: Jess Brown-Fuller (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 19 January 2016
- Type
- Sculpture
- Address
- The Symbol of Discovery, Corner of East Row and Little London, Sussex, PO19 1PD
- OS grid reference
- SU 863 049
- Coordinates
- 50.83743, -0.77562
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Symbol of Discovery is a sculpture created in 1963 by John Skelton. It is made from Kirkstone Westmorland green slate and features a pebble formed of gold leaf set in perspex. The sculpture stands approximately 2 meters high and is mounted directly on the ground, which is laid with cobbles, giving the impression that it rises from the cobbled surface. This design creates a strong connection between the sculpture, the cobbles, and the materials used in the surrounding buildings.
The sculpture depicts a pair of hands cradling a precious, jewel-like pebble. The hands are carved from rough-hewn stone, with incised fingers and fingernails that follow the natural structure of the slate. The fingers of the upper hand are curved over the pebble, while the lower upright hand supports it.
An explanatory plaque made of blue slate, inscribed by Skelton, is set into the cobbles. It reads: SYMBOL OF / DISCOVERY / WESTMORLAND SLATE / JOHN SKELTON / UNVEILED IN 1963 BY SIR CHARLES WHEELER PRA / MUSEUMS PRESENT TO THE WORLD THE PRECIOUS OFFERINGS OF THE EARTH JS.
Local climate
The Symbol of Discovery receives an average of 910 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 69% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 94% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 7 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- 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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