NEWS: As demolition works commence this week on the Abbey Walk Car Park in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, C20 has backed renewed calls to save 40 auto-inspired sculptural concrete panels by artist Harold Gosney (1937-).
Abbey Walk was designed by architects Nicholson & Rushton and built in 1969 by Holst & Company of Scunthorpe at a cost of approximately £200,000. The concrete panels are structural pillars, cast in situ and featuring a repeated series of 4 abstract designs – some flipped 180 degrees. In an interview with the BBC, Gosney explained the inspiration for these: “The four designs I produced were inspired by drawings in the handbook of the car that I had at the time, which was an Austin Cambridge estate car, and included suspension, carburettor, etc.”
The car park closed in May 2024 after structural defects were found due to water ingress, with the Council opting to demolish the structure at a cost of £750,000. In March last year, a conservation team from Lincoln university used 3D technology to scan the artworks and created a digital model so they can be reprinted in the future.
However, local campaigner Angela Greenfield from Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District Civic Society has said: "We're still hoping some of the sculptures will be saved. 3D scans don't cut it. They're a scan, not the piece of art"
ALT Sculptural concrete panel at Abbey Walk Car Park,Grimsby, Lincolnshire (1969), byt artist Harold Gosney
Image credit: North East Lincolnshire Council
ALT Sculptural concrete panel at Abbey Walk Car Park,Grimsby, Lincolnshire (1969), byt artist Harold Gosney
Image credit: North East Lincolnshire Council