Public sculptures of Sussex: The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association National Recording Project

The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association’s National Recording Project (NRP) was established in 1991 to catalogue every piece of public sculpture and every public monument in the British Isles and to maintain the resulting information in digital form for public access.

The country was divided into Regional Archive Centres (RACs), mostly run from academic institutions. Each was responsible for the survey and digitised record of its local area. Following a successful funding bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, the University of Brighton was selected to house the PMSA Regional Archive for Sussex.

The two year project conducted a survey of the diverse range of monuments and sculpture in the cities, towns and villages of Sussex and included editing the accompanying volume in the ‘Public Sculpture of Britain’ series published by Liverpool University Press.

The survey includes, from all periods: conventional statues, monumental works, selected war memorials, architectural sculpture, art sculpture, memorial clocks, towers and fountains. These include those works that have ‘disappeared’.

The research project team comprised: Peter Seddon, Dr Jill Seddon and Dr Anthony McIntosh. Database and web technology was provided by Dr Karina Rodriquez Echavarria and Dr David Morris.

Detailed descriptive data was recorded as well as the objects’ general history, including that of inauguration events / unveiling ceremonies etc.

Anthony McIntosh worked closely with Karina Rodriguez Echavarria and David Morris from the university's department of information sciences, whose expertise resulted in an exceptional online database. The online database for the National Recording Project for Sussex was, for fifteen years available at www.publicsculpturesofsussex.co.uk. The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association were so impressed with the tool that they invited the project team, on behalf of the University of Brighton, to take over the management and development of the PMSA National Database.

The transfer of catalogue data to Art UK in 2018 effectively brought the PMSA's twenty-year National Recording Project was seen as a successful conclusion to the research.

The Public Statues and Sculpture Association (PSSA) is the successor to the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association and is committed to completing and publishing the county by county survey of UK Public Sculpture established by the PMSA.