Public art & sculpture · West Midlands
Sentinel
In or near Water Orton.
Sentinel in England West Midlands, United Kingdom.
Richard Law — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 1 h–2 h
- Nearest railway station
- Erdington · 3.3 km
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
Getting there & planning your visit
To visit Sentinel, the nearest railway station is Erdington, which is 3.3 km away. The postcode for Sentinel is B35 7DG. Admission is free.
About
Sentinel is a public sculpture in England West Midlands, United Kingdom. Britain's public art ranges from Henry Moore reclining figures and Anthony Gormley installations to the Angel of the North and the surviving statues of empire.
Photo gallery
See it from the streetimagery from 2024
Imagery © Mapillary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Blythe SSSI
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Sentinel (grid reference SP13789065) is a 16-metre-high (52 ft) sculpture by Tim Tolkien, installed upon Spitfire Island, a roundabout at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham, England. It is near Junction 5 of the M6 motorway and the present day Jaguar Cars plant (the former Castle Bromwich aircraft factory). It shows three Supermarine Spitfires peeling off up into the air in different directions. The half-scale Spitfires are made of aluminium, with curving steel supporting beams which act as vapour trails. It captures the dynamics of the Spitfire in flight and commemorates the nearby Castle Bromwich factory where most of Britain's wartime Spitfires were built. There are proposals to move the sculpture to a new site, near its current location, to allow for road widening.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
The award-winning project began in 1997 as part of the regeneration of Castle Vale estate. Using National Lottery funding, Tolkien was appointed as artist in residence. He consulted with Castle Vale residents about an art feature and found that they were inspired above all else by the area's air history, during World War II, and favoured a sculpture featuring Spitfires. The sculpture was opened on 14 November 2000. The sculptor is the great-nephew of J. R. R. Tolkien (the author of The Lord of the Rings, who grew up in Birmingham). The main commercial sponsors of the spitfire sculpture were from Jaguar, Rubery Owen Holdings and Cincinnati. Both Cincinnati and Rubery Owen Holdings made…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 52.5134, -1.7981
- District
- Birmingham
- Parish
- Birmingham, unparished area
- Postcode
- B35 7DG
- Parliamentary constituency
- Birmingham Erdington
- Nearest railway station
- Erdington — 3.3 km
- Opening
- | restore =
Sources
- wikidata: Q7451306 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Sentinel (sculpture) (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Other places nearby
The Sentinel
Castles · 0.0 km
Blue Plaque:Home of the Sptifire
Memorials & monuments · 0.2 km
Knight of the Vale
Public art & sculpture · 0.5 km
Castle Bromwich Castle Hill
Castles · 0.7 km
Pimple Hill
Archaeological sites · 0.7 km
Tyburn
Villages · 0.7 km
Tyburn House
Historic pubs · 0.7 km
Bromwich Castle
Castles · 0.7 km
Berwood Bridge
Historic bridges · 0.9 km
St Mary and St Margaret's Church, Castle Bromwich
Historic churches · 0.9 km
CastleBromwich Hall & Gardens Trust
Gardens · 0.9 km
Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens
Parks · 0.9 km
Nearby
📷 5📷 3Memorials & monuments · West Midlands
Blue Plaque:Home of the Sptifire
Blue Plaque:Home of the Sptifire — a memorial in england-west-midlands, United Kingdom.
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Knight of the Vale — a public art in england-west-midlands, United Kingdom.
📷 5Castles · West Midlands
Castle Bromwich Castle Hill
Castle Bromwich Castle Hill — a castle in england west midlands.
📷 3Archaeological sites · West Midlands
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📷 5Where to eat & stay near Sentinel
Places to stay
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📷 5Hotels · West Midlands
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📷 5
📷 5Hostels · West Midlands
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Places to eat & drink
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The Brook Hill
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Sentinel?
- Sentinel is in the West Midlands, United Kingdom (postcode B35 7DG), in the parish of Birmingham, unparished area.
- What is Sentinel?
- Sentinel in England West Midlands, United Kingdom.
- How do I get to Sentinel?
- The nearest railway station is Erdington, about 3.3 km away. Drivers can use postcode B35 7DG.
- Is Sentinel a protected site?
- Yes — Sentinel is part of the River Blythe SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Is Sentinel free to visit?
- Yes, Sentinel is free to enter.
- How do I get to Sentinel?
- The nearest railway station is Erdington, about 3.3 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode B35 7DG.