Bruce statue almost ready

Nov 11 2009 by Sharon Liptrott, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

A BRONZE statue of King Robert The Bruce is almost ready to peer down over Annan’s High Street.

Volunteers behind a campaign to fill the plinth on the Royal Burgh’s Town Hall which has lain empty for 130 years are now toying with a decision in its erection next month or in the New Year.

The Friends of Annandale and Eskdale Museums, who are behind the project, have almost raised the £43,000 they need for the statue through a variety of donations and public contributions.

They have recently received a second donation from the Clydesdale Bank’s volunteer grant programme and are set to receive a donation this month from Barr Construction who are currently building the new Tesco store in the town.

The secretary of the Bruce Statue Project Committee, Roderick McCallum said: “We are on the home straight and believe that we will be able to raise the remainder within the next two to three months.”

The committee is keeping tight-lipped about the actual design of the statue.

It has been created by Port William artist Andrew Brown and will see Bruce – whose ancestors were Lords of Annandale and had the Bailey Castle stronghold in Annan – in a peacemaker mode.

The statue is currently being cast at Powderhall Foundry in Edinburgh.

Mr McCallum said: “We haven’t released images of the statue as yet. We feel that the impact will be heightened if we hold off until its ready for erection. If the casting goes without a hitch it should be ready for erection in December. However we can’t fix a date until we know that the casting is okay.”

The committee gained the backing of the public before they put forward their plans which gained support from local councillors. They believe that when the town hall was built in 1878 the plinth was added for a statue of King Robert The Bruce but it never came about until now.