Public Art Research Archive, Sheffield Hallam University
PUBLIC ART IN SHEFFIELD

Celia Kilner (calligraphy)/ Berlie Doherty (poet)
Poem - 'Here lies a city's heart ...', 1997
The Moor
lettering cut into stone
Location:
In the middle of The Moor , Sheffield S1, opposite Rockingham Way. (A-Z p.4 5D)

Description:
The poem is carved in two semicircular paving stones set together to form a circle and surrounded by small stone setts. These stones mark the junction of the Moor with Rockingham Way. Similar patterns of paving record the appearance of the other side streets to The Moor, a major pedestrianised shopping street in the middle of Sheffield.
The diameter of the circle is 1.95 m and the letters are up to 9 cm high.

The full text reads:
"Here lies
a city's heart.
There in her hills lie
her green bones. Quiet under
the clutter of houses and streets.
And there in her rivers run veins
That long ago powered her mills.
Her long limbs reach to the
moors. But here, here
lies her throbbing
heart.

B.D."

Commission:
Moor Traders Association. % for art during a complete refurbishment of the street. A companion poem was installed nearby.

Comment:
The poem is trampled over every days by hundreds of feet, although people rarely stop to read the words. The piece is in good condition apart from chewing gum stains.



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Last updated September 5, 2006