Pride Of Geordieland - Ten Years Old!

Last Updated : 17-Feb-2008 by
The modern sculpture was created by Antony Gormley, and certainly had its critics when it was first constructed on February 16th 1998.

It is located in Gateshead, and that sparked comments from the Mackems saying "it's not even in Newcastle; it's south of the Tyne; and it faces Sunderland".

The idea from Gormley was that it was to look as though it "defended" the city, and was the first welcoming sight as motorists approached Newcastle.

As for it "facing Sunderland"? There must be some cross-eyed Mackems ... it faces Durham ... not Sunderland.

For those who have not seen the structure, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 20 metres (66 feet) tall, with wings measuring 54 metres (178 feet) across — making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height.

The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has said creates "a sense of embrace".

It stands on a hill overlooking the A1 road and the A167 road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route.

Work began on the project in 1994, the total cost coming to £1m. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery.

Due to its exposed location, the sculpture has to withstand winds of over 100 mph (160 km/h). Thus, 150 metric tonnes (165 tons) of concrete were used to create foundations which anchor the sculpture to rock 20 metres (66 ft) below.

The sculpture itself was created offsite at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications Ltd in three parts - with the body weighing 100 metric tonnes (110 tons), and two wings weighing 50 metric tonnes (55 tons) each - then brought to its site by road. It took seven hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 to the site.

Construction work on the Angel was finished in 16 February 1998. At first, Angel of the North aroused some controversy locally—one local councillor, Martin Callanan, was especially vehement in his opposition—and in the British newspapers.

It has now come to be considered as a landmark for the North East of England and is one of the 12 official 'Icons of England'.