The Downhead Park name comes from a field name, Down Head Furlong. This was the inspiration for the connection with the Cotswolds as there is a place there called Downhead Park. The Street names come from other places in the Cotswolds e.g. Tadmarton, Fairford Crescent and Colesbourne Drive. The artwork idea came out of ideas and discussions with residents at the shelter housing on the estate, what did they think of when they considered the Cotswolds? Sheep was one of the things. How to add features to add interest – so new planting, seats, bins, the Boule area and the potential for art works.
The piece is called “Wool Shoddy Aliens” (if you go by Sudgrove House you can read the inscription by the main art piece) – in the past approximately 15th century many peasants were pushed off the land by the landlords – particularly by the church in order to create huge sheep walks rather than arable crops – it was said (by the peasants at least!) that the sheep would eat anything including livelihoods. Taking a little poetic licence they could also liken the urban development of Milton Keynes as further enclosure but this time displacing the sheep – by now employing mechanical ones to cut the grass! Wool shoddy’s were areas where the sheep would be sheared, with sheep often coming long distances to be sheared. Botanists many years later were confused why some areas of land would have a high diversity of plant species, including “aliens” i.e. plants that would not normally grow in the vicinity. It was when they realised the old use for these areas that they understood how the sheep had carried seeds in their fleece which fell out whilst being sheared.
So the sheep are stainless steel – i.e. alien in form (both in material and the fact some are missing middles or inverted (these create windows on to the planting) but also a reminder of the previous presence – alien also refers to the new population of people that came together in this spot and brought their diversity to create a new community and identity in the same way the sheep inadvertently carried the plant seeds. There is a poem to go with the sheep in the park (by Sudgrove House off Cornbury Crescent) which refers to the general common perceptions of sheep, the missing sheep are a reflection of poor Bo Peep and a sort of game to find the missing ones, so that’s the challenge!
Having found one of the missing sheep, take a look around and find the cache. Oh and its not on the sheep by the way! Cache is a nano! PLEASE BE CAREFUL OF ONCOMING LOCAL TRAFFIC ON OAKLEY GARDENS, IF IN DOUBT STAY ON THE GRASSED AREA