Following a public vote, Visible Women UK have announced that the remarkable writer and poet Sylvia Townsend Warner will finally be honoured with a long-overdue statue, enriching Dorchester’s literary and visual heritage. She will be the town’s first non-royal statue of a woman, joining the six statues of men that Dorchester already proudly displays.
The statue, to be sculpted by Denise Dutton who created the Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis, will be located outside Goulds Fashion Department Store in South Street where there will be a photo call on November 2nd at 11:30 am attended by, amongst others, the patron of Visible Women UK, author Tracy Chevalier and Susie the Cat.
Mark Chutter, Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society, said:
“Sylvia Townsend Warner was a prolific writer and poet whose career spanned six decades, producing some of the most varied, witty, and revolutionary work of her time. Yet, despite her remarkable contributions, her name is rarely mentioned and remains absent from Dorset’s literary landscape.”
Tracy Chevalier commented:
“When people think of Dorset writers, they tend to think of men. Thomas Hardy and the poet William Barnes; that’s why I’m so delighted that there is going to be a statue of Townsend Warner, who spent most of her life in Dorset. I think it’s great that she is finally going to be acknowledged alongside the men.”
Townsend Warner’s personal life was just as remarkable as her literary achievements. She spent most of her adult life in rural Dorset with poet Valentine Ackland, her long-term partner. At a time when same-sex relationships were heavily stigmatised, their partnership defied societal expectations, positioning both Townsend Warner and Ackland as pioneers for LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance.
Below is Denise Dutton’s initial drawing of how the sculpture could look, including a cat. Sylvia was an avid cat lover, and over the years, she was often photographed with her cherished feline companions. It was felt to be fitting to include a cat in her sculpture, and who better to serve as the model than Dorchester’s famous Susie the Cat?
