Harting Society

On March 3, we shall welcome David Jeffery to talk on the subject of Petersfield in Transition.

David is a well-known local historian and the period covered will be the 20th century, looking in some detail at pre and post-first World War Petersfield, the interwar changes, post 1945, the last cattle market, the growth of the industrial estate, the by-pass and the farming community.

Meetings are held in Harting Village Hall at 7.30pm and all are welcome, with non-members asked to contribute £3.

Join us for a drink beforehand at 7pm.

Membership enquiries may be directed to Sarah Wilcox at swilco149@yahoo.com or 07963 909889.

On April 7, we are delighted to be hosting a talk by the internationally-acclaimed sculptor Philip Jackson CVO DL.

His public commissions have won worldwide admiration and respect and include the statues of Mahatma Ghandi in Parliament Square, Bobby Moore at Wembley and dramatic portrayals of the Falklands War Yomper at Eastney and the Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park.

As Royal Sculptor, his works include the large equestrian statue of the Queen that stands today in Windsor Great Park, sculptures of King George VI and the Duke of Edinburgh, and the memorial in the Mall to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Locally, he is known for his statues of Saint Richard in Chichester Cathedral grounds and, in South Harting, of the Archangel Gabriel, which hangs (or hovers) in the

Parish Church of St Mary and St Gabriel.

He set up his first commercial studio near Midhurst in 1978.

He has been a champion of figurative sculpture since those days when abstract sculpture was more fashionable, and describes the ‘relentless study of the human form and the quest to record it accurately and with artistry’ as ‘the surest foundation for becoming a sculptor’.

We look forward with pleasure to his talk.