Statue Of Romulus And Remus On Land At Beechbarrow House

ST CUTHBERT OUT

1925/0/10016 A39 21-FEB-08 Statue of Romulus and Remus on land at Beechbarrow House

II Statue. 1945 by Gaetano Celestra, an Italian Prisoner of War. MATERIALS: Bonded cast concrete sections in red and grey, with incised and applied decorations. EXTERIOR: Statue depicting the legend of Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, suckling the she-wolf. The figures are set on a rectangular plinth that has decorative panels of vermiculation to each side. This is carried on four square columns which are decorated with raised semi-circular motifs on all four sides. The whole stands on a pedestal and the rear edge of a boundary wall. The inscription on the base records the statue's erection to commemorate the kindness shown to Prisoners of War during their internment in the Wells area HISTORY: The statue was designed and sculpted by an Italian Prisoner of War, Gaetano Celestra who was brought to the prisoner of war camp at Penleigh, on the north west side of the City of Wells and some 4km to the south west of the statue's location in 1943. Whilst at the camp, Celestra, a mason and builder by trade was employed locally to repair boundary walls. He was granted permission to build the statue with help from fellow POWs during his spare time. Its design was based upon the legend of Romulus and Remus, the traditional founders of Rome, who appear in Roman mythology as the twin sons of Mars. In 1945 the monument was erected alongside the A39, at Pen Hill in recognition of the kind way that the prisoners had been treated. After the War Celestra settled in the area and continued working as a builder and stonemason.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The statue of Romulus and Remus at Pen Hill is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * A well-preserved, good quality sculpture of the mid-C20 * Considerable intrinsic interest as a commemorative structure that celebrates the bond between the Prisoners of War in this area and the local community * The competent design and craftsmanship of a highly visible statue * It successfully demonstrates that concrete can be an imaginative medium as well as an attractive and practical one