Rare missing Cleckheaton artwork ‘found’ after 60 years

The piece is a bronze font cover and was made by famous British sculptor Ronald Pope in the early 1960s.

For years Mr Pope’s son-in-law Anthony Hubbard has been searching for bronze art piece, but it has finally been discovered in St Andrew’s CoE Church, in Oakenshaw.

Mr Hubbard said: “It’s wonderful and means a great deal to the family.

The piece has been found after almost 60 years

“Ronald Pope is listed at the Henry Moore Institute, in Leeds, as a top-flight sculptor alongside Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.

“He was very versatile and covered across a range of pieces so to find one of his artworks is magical.”

Mr Hubbard revealed the bronze font cover is the first piece the family have found in eight years, and that there are another 30 pieces out there still.

St Andrew’s Church warden, Ian Sugden said: “It’s been here since the 1960s and it’s important to the church when baptising people.

“It was originally at the back of the church, which is where the Baptismal font was located before it was moved next to the entrance.

“There’s an inscription on the piece which says ‘Shirley Sharp 1906 1962 She Succoureth Many’, so it was commissioned.”

William Henry Sharp was a Church warden at the church from 1963 to 1980.

Both him and his wife Shirley Sharp were on the Parochial Church Council.

The piece could be worth over a thousand pounds

Mr Sharp had the font cover made between 1962 and 1964 by Mr Pope in memory of his wife.

The next step for Mr Hubbard is to contact the church directly.

“Without local media and its direct approach, this wouldn’t have been possible - long may it last,” said Mr Hubbard.

"It needs to be highlighted 50 percent of Mr Pope's sculptures were destroyed.

"Some of Pope's sculptures could fetch well into the thousands.

"This is a national problem because the British people do not understand the importance of these sculptures - we don't have an 'art culture' in this country.

"They provide a heritage to communities, and because some of them are deemed unfashionable, they're discarded."

To raise awareness of UK sculptural heritage, the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PSMA) in conjunction with Art UK, has started a catalogue programme for publicly displayed sculptures.

The PMSA has become aware quality public sculptures within the UK are disappearing at an alarming rate.

"What needs to be introduced is an ownership rights system, which will stop developers from destroying sculptures," said Mr Hubbard.