500 signatures reached
To: Hastings Borough Council
Campaign for A ‘Roof’ for Edith (CARE)
A petition to call for the installation of a roof, canopy or some form of protection from further erosion by the elements, over the statue of Edith and Harold at West Marina Gardens, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.
Why is this important?
The statue, made in 1875 by Charles Wilke and donated to Hastings in that year by Lord Brassey, bears no identification and is eroding badly in the open air. It is the only public monument in the UK depicting the famous act of ‘Edith finding the body of Harold on the battlefield of Hastings’ immediately after the battle in 1066. It needs to be properly sign-posted, it’s story told, and protected for future generations to enjoy.
Edith was Harold’s common-law wife of 20 years who bore him 6 children, from one of whom, Gytha, our present Queen is descended. She is also thought by some to be the woman (one of only three in its entirety) shown in the Bayeux Tapestry (scene 47) fleeing, with her young son, from a burning house set on fire by Duke William’s troops. The statue represents a depiction of her last embrace with her lover as she identified his body among the fallen after his defeat. Following this poignant act she disappears from history: whereas Harold's legacy is acknowledged in history books the statue remains one of the few testaments to Edith’s important role in the history of our nation.
You can find out more by visiting the Campaign’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/roof4edith/
Or on Twitter: @roof4edith
How it will be delivered
Through direct contact (email and meetings) with the Parks and Open Spaces division of Hastings Borough Council with whom there has been extensive preparatory dialogue. There are no public funds currently available for this work, so the Petition will be used to demonstrate the groundswell of opinion in order to change this as well as support further fund-raising aspects of the Campaign so that effective action and change can be taken in partnership with HBC.
