Manual Ref* SUbaSU002 Show 2 images 617
Title*

Bishop Aelfhun

County Suffolk   District Council Babergh 
Civil Parish or equivalent Sudbury  Town/Village* Sudbury 
Road The Croft 
Precise Location On the south side of the croft, besides the wall surrounding St. Gregory's Church 
OS Grid Ref TL870415  Postcode CO10 
Previous location(s)  
Setting On a open grass area, behind a small, ankle high wall, surrounded by small bushes. Outside the church of St. Gregory.  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Alan Michlewaite  Sculptor(s)   

Commissioned by

Sudbury Town Council 

Design & Constrn period

 

Date of installing

1999 

Exact date of unveiling

28/06/1999 

Category

Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type

Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type:

Subject Type

Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type

Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Statue  Portland Stone  H: 120cm x W: 28cm x D: 66cm 
Pedestal  Red Brick  H: 108cm x W: 67cm x D: 102cm 

Work is

Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

Sudbury Town Council 

Listing status

Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition

Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail:

Structural Condition

Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail: Finger on his left hand is missing, as well as the end of his nose and crook

Vandalism

Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition

Good Fair Poor

Risk

No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions Aelfhun Bishop of Dunwich. Died at Sudbury A797D 

Description (physical)

Sitting figure of Bishop Aelfhun, in a praying position. He has his hands held together in front of him holding a crook. He is wearing traditional Bishops head wear, and is covered in a cloak. the statue is on top of a pedestal made from red brick. the whole piece is surrounded by a semi-circle of foliage.  

Description (iconographical)

The statue is to celebrate Sudbury being the oldest recorded town in Suffolk, to which they have Bishop Aelfhun to thank. He came to to Sudbury in 797AD, and consequently died there, this news made it into the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in 797AD, the first record of a town in suffolk. 

Photographs

Date taken:  27/12/2008
Date logged:  27/3/2007

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

Date:  25/3/2007

Inspected by:
Paul White

Sources and References

East Anglian Daily Times, (29/6/1999). 

Database

Date entered:  13/6/2007

Data inputter:
Paul White