Coleridge Memorial Statue

This Crowdfunder is now complete, and thanks!! Should you be visiting now to donate, you can still do so here: https://www.coleridgememorial.org.uk/fundraising/

We Are

The Coleridge Memorial Project - now Trust - began life in 2009 as a working party of the Ottery St Mary Heritage Society designed to raise local and wider appreciation of the poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, especially the fact that he was born in our town Ottery St Mary, Devon, UK, and a pupil at the local King’s School. 

Our Project

We are fundraising for a life-size statue of Coleridge to be sculptured and placed at St Mary's church. Our project launched in October 2017 and we have to date raised £30,000 of a £80,000 target. This Crowdfunder push is to raise £20,000 with a stretch target to £30,000: this will allow us to get our statue sculpture started, and then to prepare the site archeology, arrange public engagement notices, and plan for the unveiling event. So, we would be up and running in 2020 for completion by a 2022 deadline! Our sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby is keen and ready to begin his work, and we have all the permissions required to place this at Ottery St Mary parish church.

Memorial Sculpture Fundraising Campaign - Dame Hilary Mantel

There has long been a wish in Ottery St Mary that the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born in the town in 1772, should be appropriately memorialised in sculptural form close to his birthplace. Our project is passionately endorsed by one of our major supporters: internationally acclaimed and local writer Hilary Mantel -

'He was a visionary who helped shape our national imagination, and it is right that he should have a memorial in the place that shaped him: and in the very churchyard where he told the secrets of his heart to the grass and the nettles.'

This Project's Importance - Sir Andrew Motion

There is no memorial statue of Coleridge anywhere in the world to recognise and honour his shaping of our modern view of the world through his literary and philosophical contributions. The need to remedy this is argued by another of our distinguished supporters: writer and former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion -

'It seems completely astonishing that such a thing doesn't exist already. Coleridge is one of the greatest poets and thinkers who ever lived, as well as being one of the most fascinating human beings; Ottery St Mary should honour and celebrate him.'

Previous Project Success

In 2012 we completed our Poetry Stones project when Coleridge's entire 'Kubla Khan' poem was engraved in granite kerb stones from China and laid along the path that runs through the Land of Canaan in Ottery St Mary. This was a project very much for and supported by the people of Ottery and Devon. Although unable to confirm with 'The Guinness Book of Records', we believe it is the longest alfresco poem in the world!

Our Acknowledgement and Appreciation Rewards for Your Pledges

We have a range of tokens and keepsakes as reward mementos for whatever donations you can kindly make to our fundraising project:

Acknowledgement of donation

For all pledges of £10 or over we will send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement. This features Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem 'Sonnet to the River Otter' in which he expresses fond memories of his childhood in Ottery St Mary.

'Hymn to STC' poem illustration

For all pledges of £20, you can select to be sent a digital illustration of Grenville Gilbert's poem 'Hymn to STC'. Former Churchwarden and now Assistant Churchwarden, this is taken from Gilbert's religious verse collection 'More Honest to God'. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

'Frost at Midnight' poem illustration

For all pledges of £20, you can select to be sent a digital illustration of an excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem 'Frost at Midnight' making reference to his childhood and 'the old church-tower' of St Mary where he played as a small boy. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

Local book about Coleridge and his links to Ottery St Mary

For pledges of £40 we will send you a copy of the booklet 'Samuel Taylor Coleridge & Ottery St Mary' written by local historian Chris Wakefield. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

Canvas photo-print of poem

For pledges of £50 we will send you 1 of 12 canvas photo-prints of Ottery tar barrel rolling with an imagined sonnet by Coleridge celebrating this annual, historical event in the town of his birth. This is written by local poet Mike Ferguson who regularly incorporates Coleridge references in his work, as with a number of prose poems in his collection 'The Lonesomest Sound' [KFS Press, 2020], including 'Wind-Powered Sun' which appeared in last year's Blackpool Illuminations. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

Your name in our Book of Donors permanently retained in St Mary's church 

For pledges of £100 or over, your name will be inscribed in our CMT 'Memorial Statue Book of Donors' for permanent retention in St Mary's Church. This will be completed in the same way as the example above for our Poetry Stones project and presented on the day of the Statue's unveiling at the church.  Your name will also be added to a dedicated and public acknowledgement page on our Coleridge Memorial Trust website: http://www.coleridgememorial.org.uk/. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement ['estimated delivery' linked to this].

Limited edition Coleridge commemorative coin

For pledges of £500 we will send you 1 of 20 final, remaining coins from a limited edition of 250 Coleridge commemorative coins in a presentation case. This will come with an additional personal thank you card from Lord Coleridge and our Chairman Javeria Coleridge acknowledging this specific donation for the Coleridge Memorial Statue. Your name will also be entered into our CMT 'Memorial Statue Book of Donors' for permanent retention in St Mary's Church. This will be completed in the same way as the example above for our Poetry Stones project and presented on the day of the Statue's unveiling at the church.  Your name will also be added to a dedicated and public acknowledgement page on our Coleridge Memorial Trust website: http://www.coleridgememorial.org.uk/. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

Memorial statue maquette

For a pledge of £10,000 we would like to present you with a statuette of the second maquette by our sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby, cast in bronze and mounted on a wooden base. This is from a maximum limited edition of 10. Each will be inscribed on the base with the sculptor's name and mark to identify it. Your name will also be entered into our CMT 'Memorial Statue Book of Donors' for permanent retention in St Mary's Church. This will be completed in the same way as the example above for our Poetry Stones project and presented on the day of the Statue's unveiling at the church. Your name will also be added to a dedicated and public acknowledgement page on our Coleridge Memorial Trust website: http://www.coleridgememorial.org.uk/. We will also send you a digital illustration of CMT's 'With Thanks' acknowledgement.

A Final Word From Our Patron - Bill Coleridge

'Mindful that the 250th anniversary of Coleridge's birth is close upon us, this project requires effort and money, and I am doing my absolute best to make sure it happens, but I also need your help to enable the Coleridge Memorial Trust to raise funds to complete the task, and if you can help us in any way, my personal and heartfelt gratitude is assured.' - The Right Honourable The Lord Coleridge, 5th Baron of Ottery St Mary