Chirk Castle may host Weeping Window poppies installation
A breath-taking poppy installation commemorating British servicemen who died in the First World War could come to a castle on the Shropshire/Wales border next year if a bid to bring it to the area is successful.
Wrexham County Borough Council and the National Trust have submitted a joint bid for the Weeping Window installation to come to Chirk Castle.
The Weeping Window, along with another sculpture known as The Wave, comprises hundreds of poppies commemorating the war dead of the First World War, and is currently touring locations across the United Kingdom as part of commemorations – a campaign by the Royal British Legion to mark 100 years since the war.
If successful, the installation – which has already been displayed at Caernarfon Castle, St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, the Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland and St George's Hall in Liverpool – will come to the medieval castle, which overlooks the border between England and Wales.
Councillor Hugh Jones, lead member for communities and partnerships, said: "I'm very hopeful that the panel accepts our bid for the Weeping Window at Chirk Castle, submitted jointly with our partners from the National Trust.
"The castle would form an incredibly impressive and sombre backdrop to the Weeping Window, and it would pose a fitting location for the sculpture.
"I also want to thank our partners at Chirk Castle and the National Trust, who have been incredibly supportive in helping us to prepare this joint bid, and I'm sure they share our hope that this submission is a successful one."
Councillor David Griffiths, Wrexham County Borough Council's Armed Forces champion, said: "I am very pleased to see that we will be bidding once more for the Poppy Sculpture to come to Wrexham.
"Chirk Castle would provide a suitable setting for the Weeping Window, which has proven to be an evocative and fitting memorial for all British servicemen who lost their lives during the First World War."
