United Sculpture on Manor Hospital (2005)
A Section 106 condition of the planning permission (00/02116/NFY) granted to Nuffield Hospitals for the building of the Manor Hospital on the former Oxford United Football Ground was that they should commission a public work of art costing at least £10,000 to commemorate the site’s heritage.
The Nuffield Hospital Group chose the above sculpture by Diana Bell (the same sculptor who organized the peace circle in Bury Knowle Park) from a shortlist of works by five artists selected from 60 who submitted ideas. A model was shown to the North-East Area Committee meeting in December 2003:
- Oxford Mail, 14 January 2004: “25ft sculpture plan on show”
The 25ft-wide white marble sculpture facing Beech Road (shown below in context) is called United, and includes crowd scenes reflecting the history of the former Manor Ground site. It was unveiled in December 2004.
