Introduction to the Peace Plough
An Introduction to the Peace Plough
The Peace Plough was unveiled in September 2009, to be both a feature of our churchyard and for a time a travelling exhibit. It was designed as a witness to the challenge for the Biblical prophets (Isaiah and Micah) to us to serve God as peacemakers, and commissioned by one of our former church members, Susan Andrews. We are grateful to her family for entrusting it to the Church.
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The design of the peace plough was based on this original sketch by the artist Nick Watton and is used with his permission.
You can find out more about Nick’s work on his website at www.nickwatton.com
The plough was constructed by Austin Walmsley, a local blacksmith. The base for the structure of the sculpture is an old farm plough rescued from a local farmer’s field. Before it could be used it required extensive sandblasting to remove the rust and other damage that its working life had left it with.
Features of the plough have been created using weapons and other symbols of violence and injustice to bring the prophecy to life. These include:
· decommissioned guns which serve as the handles of the plough
· an ammunition belt which provides the height adjuster on the plough
· a sword and a spear used as the controls
Linked to the plough chains is a World War II ammunition box. This contains hand grenades which were called pineapples and lemons because of their appearance.
The images of the Peace Plough also remind us of other forms of violence, for example, the chains of slavery (both historical and present day), the challenges of knife crime in our society. The picture on the next page highlights the various components in the sculpture.
Picture © Garstang United Reformed Church 2022
The sculpture is now a permanent feature in our churchyard. The church uses the plough as part of its annual act of Remembrance in November and as a visible sign of our call for peace and to remember those affected by wars in our time. Most recently, as pictured below the plough has been adorned with the blue and yellow of Ukraine to mark our concern for the conflict in that co
Picture © Garstang United Reformed Church 2022
