War horse sculptures celebrate British town’s military heritage
Three life-sized iron-resin horse statues have been unveiled at a new development in Wokingham in Britain, paying homage to the military history of the site.
Crest Nicholson commissioned Amy Goodman to complete the sculptures for its Arborfield Green development, titled Icarus, Sport Horse Mare and Youngster. The horse at the rear is Icarus, a rearing Cleveland Bay gunner horse from World War 1.
Goodman is a sculptor and portrait artist based in Hampshire. Her previous work includes the Romsey War Horse.
The statues commemorate the site’s history as an army garrison, home to a Remount Depot and Horse Infirmary. It supplied military horses from 1904, with some 100,000 horses passing through the depot between World War 1 and World War 2. The land, part of the Bearwood Estate owned by the Walter family of the Times newspaper, was acquired by the War Office for the Arborfield Remount Depot. It was first rented and then bought.
The site covered 500 acres by 1937, and was one of the largest employers in the area. The Remount Depot was closed that year, and the following year it reopened as Arborfield Garrison.
After the eventual closure of the Depot, the Garrison became home to several army technical schools where about 50,000 trainees completed their apprenticeships.
The Garrison is being regenerated into a new sustainable village, with the creation of up to 2000 new homes, schools, shops and country parks.
The statues are located next to a new bridleway that is being developed.
