Thornaby Town Centre Roundabout with the Black Spider Statue (Thornaby)

 statue, roundabout / traffic circle

Thornaby Town Centre Roundabout

joining

Millbank Lane
Master Road
Trenchard Avenue
Mitchell Avenue
Wheeldale Crescent

Has a statue that resembles a black spider, the statue started off in the town centre, when looked at in the right direction depicts 2 A's, for the Thornaby Motto "Always Advancing"


Type Sculpture
Title Thornaby (The Spider)
Sculptor Wall, Brian
Apprentice Postcliffe, Ben
Apprentice Simpson, John
Year of unveiling 1968
Unveiling details Unveiled 26th March 1968
Road Allensway
Precise Location Wrightson House and Pavilion, outside
A to Z Ref 87 1E
Notes A large abstract steel sculpture, painted black. Two sharp-angled geometric beams support a tilted central disc.

A local benefactor paid £9,000 for the sculpture in 1968. Although it has come to be seen as a representation of a spider, the work takes its form from the two letter 'A's (Always Advancing) on Thornaby's old Coat of Arms. One 'A' of the structure is said to symbolise the old village of Thornaby, the other, the new town. Made to Wall's design at Head Wrightson's in Thornaby, the central disc was added to the design at the suggestion of a local art student.Now known locally as 'The Spider', part of the sculpture is regularly used by children as a slide and this accounts for its shiny surface on one 'leg'.