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British Ironworks Centre & Shropshire Sculpture Park facts for kids
Metal gorilla constructed from 40,000 spoons at the sculpture park of the British Ironworks Centre
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| Location | Aston, Oswestry, Shropshire, England |
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| Type | Indoor/outdoor sculpture park Forge Visitors centre |
The British Ironworks Centre & Shropshire Sculpture Park is a super cool place near Oswestry in Shropshire, England. It's like a giant outdoor art gallery filled with amazing sculptures, mostly made from metal! You can also find a forge (where metal is shaped with heat), silversmiths, and a big shop. One of the most famous artworks here is a huge gorilla made from thousands of spoons! The centre is located about 5 kilometers (or 3 miles) south-east of Oswestry town, right off the A5 road.
When you visit, you can explore a shop, a café, and watch skilled workers at the forge and silversmiths. There's also a clock repairer, a sculpture park, and even falconry (where you can see birds of prey)!
History of the Centre
The British Ironworks Centre is known for creating amazing metal art. In 2013, they received a very special request. Buckingham Palace asked them to create four iron pavilions. These pavilions were used as grand entrances for the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation held in the palace gardens.
The centre also helps with charity. They handcrafted thousands of steel forget-me-not flowers for a local hospice (a place that cares for people who are very ill). One thousand of these beautiful steel flowers were first shown in April 2016. They were so popular that they sold out in just a few hours! The centre quickly had to make more.
The Amazing Spoons Gorilla
In 2013, a famous illusionist named Uri Geller asked the centre to create something truly unique. He wanted a giant gorilla sculpture made entirely out of spoons! People from all over the world sent in spoons for this project.
- At first, about 6,000 spoons were donated.
- One of these spoons even belonged to Winston Churchill, a famous former Prime Minister!
- By the time the gorilla was finished, it was made from an incredible 40,000 spoons.
- These spoons came from far-off places like China, India, Kenya, Armenia, and Tahiti.
Even though Uri Geller asked for the sculpture, the British Ironworks Centre paid for it to be made.
How the Gorilla Was Made
The giant gorilla sculpture stands 12 feet (about 3.7 meters) tall. It was created by a talented sculptor named Alfie Bradley. He worked on it for five months! The finished sculpture was officially shown to the public by Prince Michael of Kent in 2014. After being displayed at Uri Geller's house for a while, the amazing Spoons Gorilla is now back at the British Ironworks Centre for everyone to see.