The ''Knife Angel'' (also referred to as the ''National Monument Against Violence & Aggression)'' is a contemporary sculpture formed of 100,000

knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

created by artist Alfie Bradley and the British Ironworks Centre, based in

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Completed in 2018, the structure of the angel stands at tall. In order to create the sculpture, 200 knife banks were produced by the Ironworks and amnesties held for individuals to anonymously donate their knives. Knives seized by police were also included, some of which arrived in evidence tubes still with bodily fluids on their surface. The sculpture was created in order to highlight knife crime in the United Kingdom and educate young people on the harmful effect violent behaviour can have on their communities. The sculpture was made at a reported cost of £500,000.

Construction

Once the knives were delivered to the British Ironworks Centre in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, each one was disinfected before being blunted. The knives were then welded onto an existing steel frame to form the body of the angel and remaining knives were welded onto steel plates to form the wings, giving a feather-like appearance. Families who lost loved ones as a result of knife crime were invited to have a message engraved onto a blade used in the sculpture. Over 80 families contacted the artist in order to engrave a personal message on a blade used in the wings. In 2014, early design stages of the Knife Angel are shown on the television show ''

Escape to the Country ''Escape to the Country'' is a British daytime television property-buying/ real estate programme that has been on the air since 14 October 2002. The show was originally produced by Talkback Thames and first aired on BBC One, with repeats on BBC ...

'' where show host,

Jules Hudson Julian Harold Hudson (born 9 January 1970) is an English archaeologist, television producer and presenter, best known for presenting the BBC series '' Escape to the Country.'' He also frequently presents sections of the environmental document ...

was allowed by artist, Alfie Bradley, to weld a WWII bayonet onto a metal plate as part of the project. The project was originally expected to be complete in 2015, as mentioned in the episode. Sketches of Alfie's Knife Angel are shown as well as his previous knife statues.

The National Anti-Violence UK Tour

Following the completion of the sculpture in 2018 it began a nationwide tour in order to highlight the anti-violence message behind its construction. The sculpture was on display in Corby Northamptonshire until 29 May 2022, and for the month of June was displayed in Aberystwyth. The sculpture was on display outside the

Grand Entrance to Birkenhead Park The Grand Entrance to Birkenhead Park is at the northeast entrance to Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It consists of three arches flanked by lodges and is in Ionic style. The entrance was designed by Lewis Hornblo ...

on the

Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpo ...

for July 2022. The sculpture was on display at Kirkleatham Museum, Redcar during August 2022. In December 2022 the Knife Angel travelled to

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

where a variety of educational events created a long lasting legacy. The Knife Angel was situated in Newport, near Friars Walk, for the month of November 2022. The Knife Angel was situated in Slough in January 2023, Gloucester Cathedral for February 2023 and Guildford Cathedral from 1 until 30 March 2023. It was in Crewe, Cheshire during May 2023, and arrived in

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, Warwickshire on 1 June to spend four weeks in the town's Market Place. It was then displayed in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

, Staffordshire for a month from 1 July. The Knife Angel was taken to

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

outside of the Jumbo water tower from 1 of October until the 31 October 2023. It was later moved and situated in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, from 1 November 2023 until 30 November 2023. The Knife Angel then exhibited in Walsall remaining there till 28 December 2023. On 25 January 2024 it was announced the Knife Angel would travel to be displayed at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The Knife Angel was temporarily installed on The Rock in Bury on 29 February. The Knife Angel was displayed in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

for the month of April 2024. In May 2024, the Knife Angel was located at the Italian Gardens in Weston-super-Mare. The Knife Angel was displayed in Keel Square in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

for the month of June 2024. For the month of July, The Knife Angel was on display outside the Victoria Centre,

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

. From 28 August 2024 The Knife Angel was displayed in Haverhill,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. From 2 December 2024, the Knife Angel is displayed in Perth, Scotland. From the 31st of May until the 28th of June 2025, the knife angel is displayed in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England.

Knife Bee

With a similar theme, the Ironworks Centre has also made a 'Knife Bee' from knives and guns, with the bee symbolising industrious Manchester and the construction from weapons representing the city's intolerance of violence.

References

External links

{{official website Sculptures in England Metal sculptures 2018 sculptures Knives Sculptures of angels