HERITAGE TRAIL
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You can enjoy the heritage trail from wherever you join it.  Set against the backdrop of the park, with each art installation leading you to the next.  The sculptures and their themes carry a significance to the community and local history.

Minds - recognising the heritage of the hospitals that once stood on the site and played such an important role in the community

The Community
Sitting in the Remembrance Garden you will find a ceiling of over-layered circles that move in the wind reflecting the members of the community working together to make the hospitals function.  The three main circles are the representation of Leavesden Asylum/Hospital.  The middle circles represent the community of people who worked, trained and volunteered within the hosptials. The small circles are the patients of the hospitals.

The Boundary
In this art work the mirror wall represents the separation of the people in and out of the hospital.  when you explore the different views by moving the mirror walls, how does it affect the view on the other side?  How do we see ourselves in relation ot the wall and to the other side?  How does it feel to move from one side of the wall to the other?

The Evolution
These sculptures are representations of the people who lived and worked in the hospitals who saw the treatment, care and understanding of mental health evolve.  As the mirrored skins move in the wind, they allow us to see what lies behind the survace, representing how through time, different treatments affected how much we saw of the patients' inner world.


NEON who created these sculptures listen to ensure their projects resonate with people who experience them.  They often use familiar materials in ways previously un-imagined.  This set of sculptures are formed largely from steel, designed to reflect the stories told to the artists by the community and created to enhance the experience for all of the senses.

Machines - acknowledging the importance of Leavesden aerodrome and those who worked at the factories

The Wooden Wonder
Inspired by the important historical heritage of Leavesden this carving embraces the machines which were built in the area.  Residents were passionate about seeing the creation of a large scale aircraft to reflect the amazing engineering and design that took place in the Aerodrome.  The Mosquito plane includes a cockpit in which you can sit in and listen to the audio stories from people who have worked at the site. 

Leavesden Spirit
The Leavesden Aerodrome was well known for its community spirit, employing several generations of factory workers.  This sculpture represents exactly that and displays the unity and happiness remembered fondly by all those who worked there.  When the aerodrome's Rolls-Royce factory ceased production in 1992, a poem was found tied to the gates, lamenting the closure of the site along with the end of the community that had worked there.  The poem is etched in the sculpture for you to read.

Ghosts in the Machine
Listening to community feedback, it was evident that factory workers were proud of their work on engines which carried mystical names like Ghost, Goblin, Gnome and Gipsy.  The artist imaged these unique characters hiding amongst the cogs and pistons in the engine and felt that a sculpture containing these features would be exciting and evocative.

WILL LEE  has been a chainsaw carver for ten years.  Based in Hertfordshire, he travels the UK and USA to work on commissions.  In recent years he has held the title of European Chainsaw Carving Champion.  Will only uses local timber which as fallen, been felled for safety reasons or is proven to be sustainable.  The three sculpture in the Machines theme have been created from both oak and sweet chestnut trees.

Movies - celebrating the wonder of the film industry and its significance to Leavesden

A Trick of the Light

The magic of the movies begins with a simple trick that makes still images appear to move. It's an old trick, developed as a child's novelty toy long before the movies themselves arrived.  You can spin the top section of the granite zoetrope and look through the slots to see the images come to life.  By means of this primitive device, you see the figure of Charlie Chaplin, one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema.

Every Moment Shines
The world of the movies is created by lights, camera and crew all focusing their attention on one spot.  This space becomes charged with energy, so whatever happens in it feels significant.  An important part of movie-making focuses on the dialogue between the star in the spotlight and the director behind the scenes.  Sit within the film set on the case and imagine yourself in another land or sit in the Director's chair and take charge of the scene to create your story.

Kiss of the Screen Gods
Standing tall at the Langley Lane entrance to the park is the monument to the iconic screen kiss.  Above a pedestal of stone, carved like a column for a Greek God, two shining profiles meet.  Screen idols locked in a kiss, oblivious to our existence.

BROADBENT STUDIO, led by Stephen Broadbent, have over thirty years experience completing public art projects, private commissions and exhibitions across the UK and overseas.  Their philosophy is that art grows from local soil. In this way, their work creates a sense of belonging which is embraced by people who live and work locally and contributes to meaningful place-making.
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