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Notes

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A sculpture of an 11-year-old girl, who was sentenced to three weeks of hard labour followed by four years in a reformatory for stealing a loaf of bread in 1872. The development is on the site of the old prison. The sculpture depicts Sophia clutching a loaf of bread, with a prison warden placing a hand on her shoulder.

Title

The Ballad of Sophia Constable

Date

2023

Medium

steel

Measurements

H 243 x W (?) x D (?) cm (E)

Accession number

DL6_HJC_S085

Acquisition method

commissioned as a site specific work for the newly built Treadmills Development (Central Northallerton Development Company)

Work type

Statue

Custodian

North Yorkshire Council

Work status

extant

Unveiling date

14th September 2023

Access

at all times

Signature/marks description

base of statue: Ray Lonsdale 2023

Inscription description

plaque: ‘The Ballad of Sophia Constable’ / A life without choice, a future restricted, / but all the same found guilty – convicted. / Guilty of stealing by ‘devious deception’, / and the law to be followed, without exception. / Sophia and her mild transgression, / Sophia Constable aged just eleven.

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