23-07-2025
Chippenham's 'everlasting' wall made by 4,000 kids
A quarter of a century, 4,000 children in one town had a part in the creation of a 50m-long wall, all to commemorate the Millennium Wall in Chippenham, Wiltshire, is also 2m high and covered with individual tiles, each decorated by a child between five and 12 years old in 2000.A ceremony by the town council to mark 25 years since it's construction reflected on the history."At the time of the opening, a little boy said 'this is like Stonehenge. It will always be there,'" said Jack Konynenburg, one of the main organisers who was then the Principal Architect at North Wiltshire District Council.
"It'll still be there in 125 years time, unless they develop the riverside or something like that. In all essence, it'll be there in thousands of years time," he explained that to make sure it was "everlasting", they cast it in concrete, including putting all the tiles on that way too, which involved "numerous contractors", some of whom were specialists.
The headteachers at Chippenham's schools - there were nine then - wanted a project to involve all of children were given themes to decorate the tiles around like culture, transport, environment and the the future: "They're all really good. There are none that are not interesting."
Potter Christopher White co-ordinated the artists and potters who worked with the schools and children to get the tiles made letter stamps so each child could imprint their initials: "One of the nice aspects is that it would then be possible so that anybody who'd been involved would be able to show the tile they made to their kids sometime down the line."
The shape was designed by sixth form students at Hardenhuish School, so with the wall next to the river, there is a blue line that meanders like it, dividing the Konynenburg said it took over his life for about four months: "It's one of those projects that I was immensely proud to be involved in."
