Accrington Town Square and Interpretive Artwork

The site is located in front of Accrington Town Hall and Market Hall, Blackburn Road, Accrington, Lancashire. The primary aim of the project was to stimulate regeneration by creating a community heart reinforcing the existing fantastic but forgotten urban fabric:
- The proposals for the town square were to deliver a high quality paving surface in local stone to: reveal the quality of the surrounding Victorian architecture; and create a space for events to take place.
- The aim of the artwork was to remember the past but also instil confidence in a community that may not always relate to today’s world.

The landscape architect led the project team, public realm design, community engagement, concept and content of the interpretive artwork and design of the accent lighting of the Town Hall and Market Hall. Hyndburn Council was client and funded the project with a contribution from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The public realm is simple and elegant, revealing the Victorian architecture which is further highlighted by accent lighting. Fifty-two events are scheduled in the square for the first year of operation including an opening on the 100th anniversary of the Armistice.

The most exciting part of the project was telling the town’s story. Six ‘Duck Board’ benches rise from a ‘trench line’ of paving, each bench wrapping around a vertical granite slab that act as twelve stone canvases for the interpretive artwork.

Three small animal statues relating to the town’s history sit next to a relevant bench. The scale, position and form of the statues was designed to engage with children, drawing adults over to read the interpretation pieces and hopefully explain them to their children, though often this can be the other way around.

The aim of the artwork was not to evoke pride, but confidence to be part of today’s world and maybe even change it. The story aimed to be inclusive, emphasizing that every family in the town has migrated there, whether in the Industrial Revolution or more recently, the community evolves.

We have submitted a video, produced by the client, where a resident talks about the engaging and accessible way the story is told: 'When it’s not tucked away in a book or museum and you might be sat down with your Grandad, Auntie or whatever, you go “what’s all this about?” so the Pals, Accrington, the history of our town, that’s a great tale to tell everybody about…In a square, all those conversations can take place over a nice cup of tea and just remember about how our little town has made a big impact on the world'

Through early engagement with stakeholders we identified that not everyone wanted to focus entirely on the story of the Accrington Pals. There are thousands of stories in any town and these can be told from lots of different perspectives, so we started the consultation exercise asking 'What story do you want us to tell?' using a matrix to narrow down what period in history and preferred themes, the story should cover. The results informed both the nature and scope of the story, further rounds of consultation and engagement refined the details of the story. It was important to have an audit trail whilst developing the artwork content to illustrate the origins of the narrative.

The benches were designed as social spaces, each seating area 2.5m long and 2m wide, facilitating group and informal seating. The interpretive artwork start’s conversations whilst the animal statues attract children, initiating engagement with the story told in the artwork.