Stitches in time as artwork honours textiles history

Spinners is the latest of the sculptures forming part of a new Town Trail, designed to take people to parts of the town and its history which they may have never come across before.

The trail will lead visitors from North Bar Within to Beckside with 39 permanent art works – a combination of sculptures and street art – telling the story of the town's medieval guilds and trades in the 13th century.

The 3m-high sculpture with intertwining stainless steel spirals by artist Chris Wormald, represents the spinning trade and is in Swaby's Yard, close to Dyer Lane where cloth was taken to be dyed.

A spinner turned raw wool into threads and yarn and there was one in practically every house in Beverley.

Chairman Beverley Medieval Guilds & Crafts Town Trail Committee Tom Martin said: "It's brilliant, it's encouraging, it's informative and it's a great joy to see the trail taking shape after eight years."

Hundreds of schoolchildren were involved in workshops and many of their ideas have been adopted.

He said: "When it came to the hat-makers the children insisted we have a jester's hat and it's now on top of a signpost. It's a lovely little touch.

"The glove-makers are very close to the hatmakers and it is represented by a single glove on the edge of a cast-iron bench.

"It looks as if someone has just left it there.

"The bowmen are represented by a hail of stainless steel arrows going in front of the HSBC bank.

"The feedback has been doubly interesting. People were slightly aware of the history but not fully aware."

A leaflet, which will be available in tourism information centres in time for the official launch on Sunday July 11, will not fully reveal the locations to make it more of a mystery tour for its primary audience, schoolchildren.

He added: "They enjoy the mystery of finding artefacts – some at pavement level, some at eye-level and some at high level."

Patricia Deans, from Beverley, who was at yesterday's launch said: "I think a lot of them are very clever indeed. Spinners is a really good piece of work."

Part of the third wave of installations, the Spinners' sculpture accompanies several other artworks. They include a sculpture in a floral garden plot to the north of the Minster representing the masonry industry and an engraving of a stretched hide – a part of the process of tanning – on Flemingate.

Tanning was an important industry in Beverley for hundreds of years with the last tannery closing in 1986.

The town trail will be launched with a day of music, plays and family entertainment. A 40th sculpture, acknowledging the work done with 11 Beverley and village schools will be added later.

Visit Hull and East Yorkshire sponsored the trail in partnership with East Riding Council, Beverley Town Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, who awarded 149,500, and a number of business sponsors.