Call for Leeds 'penny bazaar' statue to mark birth of Marks & Spencer
The "Penny Bazaar" market stall which was the foundation of the Marks and Spencer empire could be re-created as a sculpture as part of the multi-million pound refurbishment of Leeds Kirkgate Market.
One of the city's Honorary Aldermen, Dr Jeffrey Sherwin, has called for a replica of the original Marks and Spencer market stall to be installed near the market entrance as a lasting memorial both to the origins of the chain, and to symbolise the rich history of the city's popular market.
He wants to raise funds for his proposal through public subscription – and possibly through the sale of bags carrying the famous "penny bazaar" photograph.
Dr Sherwin, who is a retired GP, said: "Marks and Spencer, now a great international institution, started with a small stall in Leeds market – the Penny Bazaar.
"Is it not time we honoured that event with a full scale reproduction of the famous image of the stall and sales girl either in bronze or fibreglass and the sculpture be placed outside the market entrance?
"I am sure that both the Leeds local authority and M&S will chip in but things are presently tough for both.
"So one way of raising the cash, with M&S support and agreement of course, would be by asking shoppers in the Leeds stores if they would like to have their purchases placed in an ordinary M&S bag or an M&S bag overprinted with the Penny Bazaar image for an extra £1, that's £1 going to support the public subscription for the Penny Bazaar sculpture commemorating M&S starting in Leeds.
"My wife Ruth often speaks of M&S as 'her store' because she shops there so often and I suspect many others also feel a sense of 'family' when it comes to Marks & Spencer."
He said the best site for the replica would be at the bottom of King Edward Street where it meets Vicar Lane, directly opposite the Ludgate Hill entrance to the market.
"The pavement is wide enough and with the sculpture placed parallel with Vicar Lane so the sales girl (in the photograph) is looking up King Edward Street it would be visible from half way down the pedestrian street," he said. "I could see it becoming an important image of 'Tourist Leeds'.
"Dublin has a statue in Grafton Street of Molly Malone pushing a cart.
"There was a life-size bronze of Churchill sitting on a bench talking to Roosevelt in London's Bond Street – so why not a Marks and Spencer 'Penny Bazaar' outside the entrance to Kirkgate Market?"
Marks and Spencer said it would consider the proposal.
In 1984, to mark its centenary, the firm paid for installation of a clock near the site of the original Marks and Spencer stall in the market.
l Dr Sherwin was a long-serving Leeds councillor who today helps the city's Lord Mayors with their charity functions.
He is also known as a lender of British Surrealist works from his own collection.
Posted: Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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