The ''Solar Pyramid'' was a proposed sculpture originally scheduled to open in June 2003 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

was to have been the UK's largest

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, the world's biggest functioning

timepiece A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...

, and the world's largest

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

. The sculpture, originally planned for a site in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, and later one in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, failed to attract sufficient finance or public support to be constructed. The design consisted of three towers, or

gnomon A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields, typically to measure directions, position, or time. History A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was ...

s, which leaned together to create an illusion of a

Design

According to the project's website the pyramid was to comprise "three highly polished stainless steel leaning blade-like towers, which cast a shadow onto an enormous elliptical sundial base, telling the date and time". The towers would not meet at the apex, but create "a shifting illusion of a pyramidal structure". The towers were to be clad in "reflective, mirror polished and green-coloured, stainless steel" to reflect light and capture movement. One tower was to have "a locational latitude of 53.25 degrees and is orientated due south to function in a similar, but more scientifically sophisticated manner, to that of the gnomon of an immense sundial". The tower would cast a shadow on a sixty-metre elliptical base. The remaining towers were to be aligned to the extremes of sunrise and sunset.

Derbyshire site

In 2002, it was announced that construction of the sculpture, designed by Richard Swain and Adam Walkden would be commenced at

Poolsbrook Poolsbrook () is a former mining village near Staveley in North East Derbyshire, England. The village was built by Staveley Coal and Iron Company towards the end of the 19th century to provide housing for workers employed at the nearby Speedwe ...

, near Chesterfield,

. A scale model of the sculpture was exhibited at the

Royal Observatory Greenwich Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

. The site, near the

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

, was to be visible to 45,000 motorists an hour. Completion was expected by June 2003. Eventually, work on the foundations commenced in January 2004, and it was announced that it was expected to have the sculpture in place by the time of the Autumn Equinox on 22 September of that year. By December 2005, there was little progress, with a completion date of Summer 2006 given. By September 2007, work had still not started, mainly due to financial problems. It was hoped that construction would finally begin in Spring of the following year, with completion about nine months later. However, in November 2007, the Derbyshire site was abandoned. Instead, it was decided to build a sculpture near

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

in Dorset.

"Moments in Time"

In February 2006, the ''Solar Pyramid'' website began the sale of "Moments in Time" to the public. For £49.75 the purchaser received a certificate of ownership of "a chosen one-minute slot at a date and time that carries special significance for them". A numbered plaque marking the minute would also be affixed to the floor of the planned sundial.

Dorset site

Negotiations with

Poole Borough Council Poole Borough Council was the unitary authority responsible for local government in the Borough of Poole, Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 1997 following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), becoming administ ...

began in November 2007. The project had the support of Poole Tourism Partnership. The scheme for the sculpture was opened to public consultation in December 2007, but the response was overwhelmingly negative. In January 2008, Poole Borough Council announced they would not be going ahead, partly due to "unanswered questions about adequate funding". The council's leader issued a statement explaining the decision:

"...no taxpayers' money will be invested in the delivery of this proposal and at this stage, Solar Pyramid Ltd has not been able to provide the necessary evidence of costs and funding for the Council to proceed with the assessment work with sufficient confidence. I will therefore be instructing the Council's Chief Executive to make arrangements to withdraw from discussions with Solar Pyramid Ltd."

All references to Poole were quickly removed from the project website.

Winding up of company

According to documents lodged with the

Registrar of Companies A company register is a register of business organizations such as companies in the jurisdiction they operate under. Registration is normally mandated by the government of that jurisdiction. A company register serves a purpose of protection, acco ...

, the directors of the company resigned and an application for a voluntary striking off the register was made in June 2009. The final notice indicating that the company had been voluntarily dissolved appeared in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' in September 2009.

References

{{coord missing, Dorset Proposed buildings and structures in England Outdoor sculptures in England Pyramids in Europe Buildings and structures in Derbyshire Culture in Derbyshire History of Derbyshire History of Dorset Sundials Steel sculptures in England