Sussex is home to some amazingly diverse talent, and if sculpture is your thing, there are a number of compelling Sussex sculpture trails and gardens. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are seasonal. Some are wild and untamed. Some are surrealist and some more conventional. But whatever your taste, here is our round up of what you’ll find:
Philip Jackson
Only open in the summer and by appointment, this stunning exhibition is of both large and small works set within beautiful gardens and a studio gallery in Cocking, West Sussex. With the backdrop of the South Downs, Jackson’s work is powerful, dramatic, and fun. There are distinctly Venetian influences in many pieces and his work is highly emotive and always compelling.
Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens
There are currently two types of sculpture on display at Leonardslee near Horsham. There are the large scale pieces of South African sculpture Anton Smit, often of heads or faces. These are strikingly beautiful and always evocative, and, unsurprisingly, there is a distinctively African feel to a lot of Smit’s work.
However, a more recent addition to the sculptures at Leonardslee, is the Surrey Sculpture Society trail which includes over 100 pieces by a variety of different artists and of varying sizes and styles. It’s a great opportunity to compare and contrast and go a bit deeper into what really appeals to you.
Heathland Sculpture Trail
The Heathland Trail is a much more rustic affair. The trail includes seven stone sculptures created by Graeme Mitcheson and inspired by both the local landscape and local heritage.
You will find five of them along the route of the Serpent Trail (namely Black Down (a Tennyson quote), Resting Reptiles, the Lavington Lizard, Sheep Pig and Dragonflies Rest). The sixth is at Pulborough Brooks (the Wiggonholt Cricket) and the seventh (Cranberry on the Mire) is over the border in Hants.
Borde Hill
There are a number of permanent sculptures at Borde Hill but they also hold regular exhibitions. In the Rose Garden you’ll find the fountain statue of Aphrodite, installed in August 2020 and sculpted by artist Brendon Murless. While in the Italian Garden you’ll find, ‘Welcoming the New Year’, a marble resin copy of an original by the local artist Ev Meynell. And look carefully in amongst the flowerbeds around the White Garden and Gardener’s Retreat for smaller pieces.
Chalk Stone Trail
Think of this trail as wild art or natural art. It includes 15 large chalk stones spread over 8 km and in varying states of disintegration. Designed by by Andy Goldsworthy back in 2003, it was expected that they would have disintegrated by now, but they haven’t and what is left fuels some interesting debates.
The Leigh Dyer trail
For locally inspired sculpture and a maritime theme, head to Hastings Old Town and St Leonards. Here you’ll find five pieces by local sculptor Leigh Dyer. Fun but thought provoking, these beautiful sculptures aren’t part of an official trail but are worth taking the time to find.
The Jon Edgar trail
The Jon Edgar Trail is not an official trail either but quite frankly should be. Jon Edgar is an internationally acclaimed Sussex sculptor of the former Frink School. The Frink School was an art school which focused on “specific observational and technical disciplines of figurative sculpture”. Edgar works in different materials and his pieces are always arresting, conversation starters. There is so much interest in every piece and the large scale Sussex pieces work wonderfully hand in hand in nature.
Start at the Fittleworth stores, near Petworth (where you’ll be met by Whirligig, a sculpture by Alan Thornhill) , and then head down the narrow path to Hesworth Common where you’ll see a number of pieces of Edgar’s work lining the footpath. For large scale stone pieces head to Slindon (Rise of Northwood), on to Pulborough (Trisantonis), Horsham (Fluvius) and then on to Lewes (Portal).
The Secret Garden, Kemptown
Open from April to September, each year this community garden hosts a sculpture exhibition for Sussex artists. The garden itself is an an oasis of calm and cake, and the exhibition is a fantastic chance to observe and enjoy work from different sculptors. In 2024, there are 10 different sculptors exhibiting with a diverse array of styles.
Farleys House
Just outside Hailsham, Farleys House was the home of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose. Lee Miller was a Vogue model, WWII correspondent and photographer, and Surrealist. Roland Penrose was an artist, historian, and promoter and collector of Surrealist art. Farleys House is still a home for their son and granddaughter. The Farleys Sculpture Garden surrounding the house was designed by Penrose and includes a mix of permanent pieces chosen by Lee Miller and Roland Penrose and works by contemporary guest sculptors. It’s an extraordinary and exciting exhibition.
Sussex Prairie Gardens
Based just outside Henfield in West Sussex, this 8 acre prairie garden is open to the public each summer. In amongst the gardens, they also host sculpture by different artists, all beautifully positioned to complement the naturalist planting. In2025, the garden will only be open for the month of August.
Parham House and Gardens
Just outside Storrington, there are plenty of reasons to visit this Elizabethan mansion and its beautiful gardens and one of those is for the classic sculptures you’ll find. Perhaps the best known is the Carrara marble statue of a dying soldier. The piece is signed by ‘L. Amigoni, Bergamo 1857’. It was exhibited at the Great Dublin Exhibition in the late 19th century. There is no official sculpture trail here, but there are other works to be discovered in and around the garden.
Wakehurst Wild Wood
This relatively new sculpture trail at Wakehurst just outside Haywards Heath is home to a number of hand-woven structures from birds of prey to foxes, deer and badgers. It’s a great one for children.
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