This sculpture was made for a garden in Wiltshire. The arch was designed by George Saumarez Smith of Adam Architecture to complement the New House, and we were commissioned by the owners to design and make a plaque commemorating the building of the house.

The arch was made from Stoke Ground Bath stone, the wall behind is red brick, and the path in front is paved in stone, so the challenge was to choose materials for the plaque that would stand out but work in sympathy with the other materials. We decided on a plaque in Delabole slate, surrounded by an oak leaf wreath cast in lead. There is a wonderful tradition of lead garden sculpture in Britain, the colour works perfectly with the slate and matches the pair of lead planters in front of the arch.

Once designs were finalised, we modelled the oak leaf wreath in clay in our workshop and it was cast by the excellent team at Bulbeck Foundry near Newmarket (www.bulbeckfoundry.co.uk). The finished piece was installed in May and we hope will weather slowly and gracefully as the garden grows up around it.