Country Life
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February 22, 2021 The Chapel built by sculptor John Bunting at Scotch Corner, located on the Bronze Age Hambleton Street and medieval drovers route, North York.
Annunciata Elwes celebrates the effort that turned a derelict house into a memorial.
In 1956, sculptor John Bunting, who counted Henry Moore and Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson among his influences, purchased a derelict farmhouse on a hillside above Oldstead, site of the 1322 Battle of Byland, with a view of York Minster.
What followed was a painstaking transformation from rubble to War Memorial Chapel, which he adorned with Yorkstone carvings of angels, the Madonna and Child, a dove bearing an olive branch and a soldier in paratrooper’s helmet and commando boots holding a rosary.