Artist Crafts Spiraling Statue to Replace Stolen Park Treasure

John Doubleday, a well-known artist from Essex, has created a new statue for Lake Meadows park in Billericay after the original was stolen twice. The first statue, called 'Child in the Park,' was installed in 2001 and quickly became a favorite feature for visitors. It showed a child crouching and was made of bronze, but unfortunately, it was targeted by thieves and eventually disappeared from its spot in 2024.

After the thefts, Doubleday decided to design a new sculpture to replace the old one. He began working on it in July, using a material called fondu cement instead of bronze to make it less attractive to thieves. The new statue is named 'The Spirit of the Child in the Park' and is shaped like a spiral. Doubleday explained that the spiral represents the upward journey of life and is meant to inspire children to engage with animals and the natural world. He hopes that the statue will encourage curiosity and learning about the environment among young visitors.

Doubleday is famous for creating statues of important figures such as Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Charlie Chaplin. He said that his motivation for making the new artwork was a mix of stubbornness and a desire not to let negative actions, like theft, stop him from sharing art with the community. The new statue was commissioned by Friends of Lake Meadows and funded with help from the Rotary Club of Billericay Mayflower. Doubleday hopes that the sculpture will spark interest in nature and help children feel more connected to the world around them when they visit the park.