Grim and Havelok could soon be back - but where should they go?
THE WELL-KNOWN STATUE ONCE STOOD OUTSIDE GRIMSBY INSTITUTE ON NUNS’ CORNER FOR 33 YEARS
WHERE should the statue of Grim and Havelok go once its restoration is completed?
For years, one of the main symbols of Grimsby has languished at Grimsby Institute. It is due to be restored with the help of artists.
But the question has arisen where best to install the sculpture.
The well-known statue once stood outside Grimsby Institute on Nun’s Corner for 33 years before being taken down permanently in 2006. Now, it lies in storage within the Institute. The statue of Grim and baby Havelock underwent its fair share of destruction from vandals, weather erosion and prankster antics.
It was installed on a plinth outside Grimsby Academy on May 29, 1973 but had to be removed on health and safety grounds in 2006 after Havelock was decapitated by vandals.
Legend has it that Prince Havelock, the son of a Danish King, was rescued by the Danish settler and fisherman Grim from the merciless sea off the Lincolnshire coast. The work of art depicts the man carrying the boy to the shore, whereupon he brought him up as his own son.
When Havelok returned to his native land as a young adult he became a royal scullion and fell in love with the new king’s daughter. His real identity eventually discovered, he had riches heaped upon him – money which enabled him to return to England and start a thriv thriving fishing port for, and in the name of, his old benefactor and kith, Grim.
The best-known version, “The Lay Of Havelok The Dane,” by Geoffrey Gaimar is a long poem and one of the classics of English literature. Renowned Grimsby MP Anthony Crosland unveiled the statue at College Green in front of an audience of 200 on May 29, 1973. It had been designed and sculpted at the School of Art in Grimsby.
Annual exhibitions of works by staff and students went on show and sold, with proceeds used to commission a special work of art to be presented to the Borough of Grimsby as a gift to the people of Grimsby. Grim was created by Professor Douglas Wain-Hobson, (1918 - 2001), formerly of the Royal College of Art, in London.
Grim and Havelock arrived in a blaze of publicity, owing to its nudity. Despite heated debates in the Council Chamber and members of the public voicing their approval and disapproval, the statue remained.
Metal files were set inside the hollow legs to prevent vandals sawing through them, though attempts were made to do so. The statue was originally hollow and made of fibreglass on a metal framework, with the legs later filled with concrete when it was noticed the statue was swaying in the wind.
It was kept at Haverstoe Park in a container for several years after being removed from the Institute. Renowned Grimsby sculptor, Trevor
Harries, pictured right, who made the bronze Fishermen’s Memorial in St James’ Square said the statue can be easily restored with fibre-glass.
“It should go back on College Green as intended,” he said. Others have called for Grim to be given a new home in People’s Park. Becky Darnell, creative project support for The Culture House said: “It would be good to see it somewhere central like Riverhead square or St James’ Square or Alexandra Dock so people visiting the town can see it.”
Grimsby MP Lia Nici told Grimsby Live she was dismayed by the vandalism of the statue during her 22 years at Grimsby Institute, as a student and as a tutor. “I liked where he was. It is a great shame the plinth is there with nothing on it. I saw the abuse Grim got.”
She added: “It will be up to the public to decide where it goes. But maybe a new sculpture could go on the plinth and Grim could go in the town hall or The Fishing Heritage Centre where people could see it and feel proud. It needs to be somewhere the public has access such as a civic building.”
The new mayor of North East Lincolnshire, Councillor Steve Beasant said: “It has got to be in a place that will be safe. We don’t want the same things happening again as before. Maybe it should go higher up on a plinth. It is fantastic that it is being restored. The statue is important to our area and I welcome it coming back so that future generations can know about Grim.”