Peeps into the past: The heat is on as Farnham Flame rises again

Next time you are in South Street, glance across Sainsbury’s car park and you will see a magnificent sculpture on the Brightwells building.

This is the Farnham Flame. Between 1966 and 2019, the sculpture was prominent on the side of the old Woolmead buildings, at the Royal Deer Road junction.

And like a Phoenix, it’s now blazing again. The Flame was installed at Brightwells on Wednesday, August 26, after months of campaigning to get the piece restored and reinstalled in Farnham.

Anyone who has lived in Farnham before the demolition will remember the piece fondly. The Flame depicts key themes from Farnham’s past: the flame symbolising the pottery and hop drying kilns, which go back 2000 years and established thriving industries that survive to today.

A mitre and cope which reference the strong ecclesiastical history of the town, often frequented by a succession of Bishops of Winchester who lived in the Bishops’ Palace, at Farnham Castle, for nearly 900 years.

The sculpture bears some resemblance to a Flame the same artist created for Bay Knoll Church in Rochester, New York State.

Alan Collins (1928 – 2016) is the man responsible for the piece. He was born in Beddington, then part of Surrey, and studied at Wimbledon College and the Royal College of Art, before enjoying an illustrious career both in Britain and the United States.

His works appear on many notable public and private buildings in both countries, including banks, universities and colleges, churches and cathedrals, and hospitals. Collins’s work can still be seen in some very prominent places.

In Surrey, he designed and carved the inscription on the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede, unveiled in 1965. Perhaps the most notable is the famous Golden Angel weathervane which tops Guildford Cathedral.

Alan had a life-long connection to the Adventist Church, giving rise to religious themes in many of his works of art. He also had a fascination with fire, often depicted in his work.

For the Woolmead Installation Alan created the Farnham Flame in 1966, to be a centrepiece of the new ‘Woolmead buildings’ in East Street. Collins described some of his religious sculptures as “silent sermons” – works intended to communicate ideas and stories without words.

There was a grand unveiling of the sculpture, celebrating the opening of the modern, now considered brutalist, architecture of the development, a stark contrast to the adjacent historic buildings, latterly protected in the conservation area.

When the Woolmead buildings were demolished, the Flame was donated to Farnham Town Council, along with an aspiration that it would find a new home at Brightwells. The idea to mount the Flame on a Brightwells building came from a trustee of the Farnham Public Art Trust (FPAT), back in 2022.

Since then, the Town Council, the Borough Council and even Surrey County Council have worked alongside FPAT to find a way of adorning the huge blank wall that the piece now occupies.

Before the re-installation, the sculpture was restored by a local artist, Ian Bishop, who has a workshop in West Street.

“We thank Farnham Town Council and all those who have helped make this happen, and we hope the sculpture inspires the people of Farnham for many years to come,” said John Neale on behalf of the Trust.

Last Wednesday, August 26 the flame was installed on The Brightwells building. The installation follows Brightwells’ own upgrade to their sign the day before.

A spokesperson for SCC said: “We are delighted to introduce the new scheme signage at Brightwells, alongside the installation of the historic Woolmead Flame sculpture this week.

“Restoring and mounting the Woolmead Flame on the scheme has been a true labor of love in partnership with Farnham Town Council and the Farnham Public Art Trust.

“Re-integrating this beloved local artwork alongside our new signage reflects our ongoing commitment to celebrating Farnham’s rich heritage while delivering a thriving, modern destination for shopping, dining, and leisure.”