A sculpture of two lovers, paying tribute to the couple who established Pontypool’s Italian Gardens, is set to be placed in storage during upcoming construction work. The redevelopment project at Hanbury Road’s public toilets, above the gardens, aims to create a new restaurant and cafe, funded with £7.6m from the UK Government’s Levelling Up programme. The refurbishment also includes restoring the unused St James’ Church opposite the toilets, with the goal of attracting the nearly 300,000 annual visitors to Pontypool Park into the town centre. As part of the planning conditions for the toilet block’s renovation, Torfaen Borough Council, overseeing the project, is required to outline plans to salvage and refurbish the wooden sculpture on the toilet block’s wall in the park. The council confirmed the sculpture will be temporarily relocated to a secure storage unit within Pontypool Park until the construction is completed, after which it will be reinstated to its original spot.
The wooden sculpture was crafted by Newport-based artist Chris Wood, known for several wooden sculptures within Pontypool Park. The Two Lovers sculpture commemorates Capel Hanbury Leigh and his second wife Emma Elizabeth, who honeymooned at the Isola Bella Gardens in Lake Maggiore, inspiring the creation of the Italian Gardens in the grounds of Pontypool House between 1849 and 1850. While the gardens appeared on the 1918 Ordnance Survey map as Italian Gardens, they were not named on the 1881 map. Nonetheless, an area of similar description is marked but not named on the earlier map.
The move of the sculpture has been deemed acceptable by the planning department, with assurance from Torfaen Borough Council for its safekeeping until it can be placed back in its original setting. The sculpture’s relocation is part of a broader effort to revitalize Pontypool’s town centre and enhance the visitor experience at Pontypool Park.