Toad sculpture is given new home at listed hall

WITH echoes of Wind in the Willows and not a weasel in sight, Toad has returned to his hall.

- TONY HENDERSON

A specially commissioned five-foot sculpture of a toad was unveiled at the National Trust's Crook Hall Gardens in Durham, designed by artist, blacksmith and sculptor Graeme Hopper.

The toad is made from mild steel, galvanised then covered with an additional shiny coating, giving the amphibian’s warty skin the impression that it has just emerged from a pond.

The words 'Toad, Crook Hall' appear in relief and in braille on a plaque, and it is shown in the act of eating a fly.

The sculpture replaces a wooden toad, a feature of the gardens for many years before it began to decay.

County Durham-based Graeme said: "I wanted to make the toad realistic, but not so realistic that it would frighten visiting kids."

Ann Tulloch, National Trust senior gardener at Crook Hall said: "Gardens are an increasingly important habitat for toads, especially those with a pond where they can breed in spring.