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Have you ever wondered why the Waterfront is graced with a skyscraping 20-tonne stone spike? There’s a golden reason for that.
The Golden Jubilee marked the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign in 2002.
The anniversary saw the commission of the first public statue of Elizabeth II in the UK. Standing in Windsor Great Park, it showed the Queen riding a horse.
A statue was also erected in Jersey to mark the Golden Jubilee, but the theme was slightly different.
Measuring 14 metres in height and weighing 20 tonnes, Jersey’s commemorative statue for the Golden Jubilee took the shape of a needle pointing to the sky, designed by Richard Perry, a UK-based artist who was known for his stone sculptures.
Pictured: Richard Perry's 'Needle' pierces the sky, measuring 14m.
With a base of 1.5m, it included four different stones and narrowed into a fine point at the top.
The tip of the sculpture featured a 1m high capping cone made out bronze.
Burlington Slate, a manufacturer of British natural stone which has been quarried for over 400 years in the heart of the English Lake District, provided the slate for the needle in three different tones, Broughton Moor, Blue-grey and Elterwater.
Each piece of slate was selected for quality and colour and the discs were laminated into manageable units. Each measured around 500mm high and was made of 17 courses of slate.
Pictured: Each piece of slate used in the sculpture was carefully hand-picked.
Mr Perry said the design of the needle had been inspired by the colours of the sea and the movement water he had observed at the Waterfront.
“The scale of the piece is carefully considered to create a memorable landmark that will work with the surrounding buildings viewed from both the Marina and Jardins de la Mer,” he said.
“The marina's rippling plane of green water is echoed by the sculpture's layers of contrasting stone.”
According to reports from the BBC at the time, building the needle required a “complex and a technical piece of structural engineering” as the foundations needed to be strong enough to support the weight of 20 tonnes of slate, as well as entirely level to ensure the needle would be straight.
Mr Perry has said the process would take “great patience, care and technical skill".
In a post shared on its Facebook page, the Jersey Development Company said the proposal for a “formal yet contemporary design” had been selected by the States Golden Jubilee Committee in consultation with the Jersey Public Sculpture Trust.
The £200,000 sculpture was partly funded by the States Golden Jubilee committee, which provided a grant of £75,000 with the remaining money raised by the private sector.
The Golden Jubilee Needle, which received the National Stone Federation Award in 2006, was officially unveiled by HRH The Prince of Wales on 22 June 2004.
Pictured: The sculpture was unveiled by Prince Charles in 2004.
The BBC reported that he also watched two local children, Mitchell Harris and Jack Heaney, bury a time capsule containing a range of items selected to reflect life in 2004 and the occasions of the Golden Jubilee and Jersey's 1204 celebrations.
This included a mobile phone, stamps commemorating the Jubilee from 2002, two special 1204 - 2004 £1 notes issued by Jersey's Treasury, a tape of Richard Perry (suggested by Mitchell), the Needle's architect, speaking about the sculpture and a Jack's toy truck.
In 2004, Mr Perry created another public sculpture for the island. Following a commission by the Jersey Public Sculpture Trust, he created the ‘Freedom Tree’ – a six-metre high bronze tree to commemorate 60 years since the Liberation of the island.
Pictured: The Freedom Tree was also created by Mr Perry and unveiled by Her Majesty on the 60th anniversary of the island's liberation from Nazi rule. (Man Vyi)
Overlooking St. Aubin’s Bay from Elizabeth Marina, it was officially unveiled by HM The Queen on the 60th anniversary of the Liberation.
As Jersey prepares to mark 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II being on the throne, Express is reflecting on how the island has celebrated previous jubilees each day this week...
Why Jersey has the Silver Jubilee to thank for its flag
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