Straight from the red-hot fires at Poplars Forge in Buckley a Welsh dragon has landed in Wrexham, where it offers a symbol of Welsh passion, power and pride on the Eagles Meadow roundabout.
The ‘Wrexham dragon’, which is about three metres long, took Flintshire-based blacksmiths and sculptors Steven Gillard and Stuart Wilson’s six weeks to complete and started life as steel sheets and rods.
“At least 90 per cent of each dragon has been hammered on the anvil at some point during the process,” Steven explains. “We start by building a skeleton from steel rods and then we set about making the head, the body and wings and the finer details.
“A great deal of work goes into each dragon and, because of that I feel that each one has its own personality.”
Steven has already seen a dream realised when, earlier this year, in time for St David’s Day, one of his dragons was installed at the heart of Welsh democracy, at the Senedd in Cardiff. As well as finding prominent homes across Wales, Poplar Forge steel dragons have also spread their wings even further, travelling across the globe, as far as Australia.
Steven has also been recently contacted about producing a huge dragon sculpture to serve a very special, poignant purpose.
“We’ve sent one dragon to a private client in Melbourne, Australia,” Steven said. “We’ve also made one for Baroness Hale of Richmond, Justice of the Supreme Court and the UK’s most senior female judge. It’s great to work with a client and be able to create something unique to their specifications which they truly appreciate.
“We were contacted recently about making a 17 metre dragon on a plinth to be sited in Belgium which would serve as a memorial to Welsh soldiers who fell during the war.
“Whether we will be commissioned to make the piece I’m not sure but it would be a real honour if we were. It would be the largest that we would have made so far.”
Latest Tweets