Lomey Town Bonk, near Five Ways in Cradley Heath, was where several rallies were held during the women chainmakers strike of 1910; the place where the charismatic Mary Macarthur ignited the atmosphere with her Scottish brogue and encouraged the women of Cradley Heath to battle on.
But one hundred years later the Bonk has gone, as has the Workers’ Institute, now relocated to the Black Country Living Museum, and all that is left as a reminder of those times is a fine open space called Mary Macarthur Gardens.
However, local craftsman Bryn Williams couldn’t let the centennial anniversary of the chainmakers’ famous struggle pass by without putting his own mark on history, and who better to choose as the subject of his latest carving than Mary Macarthur herself.
Bryn, now retired, is a former employee of the Halesowen button manufacturer James Grove & Sons Ltd., where he used to make the most exquisite buttons and other interesting tranklements out of animal horn. He hastens to add that all the animal horn he has ever used either at work or since retirement comes from shed antler and not from beasts that have been culled. His latest project was started earlier this year and has taken him approximately 50 hours to complete. The tiny statue of Mary Macarthur is approximately 4 inches tall and sits on top of a walking stick.
“I had to include a chain in the carving,” Bryn told us, “to emphasise Mary’s connection with the women chainmakers.
The chain comes from the hair at the back of her head and fastens to her belt”.
The whole carving is made out of one piece of stag horn and can be viewed at the annual Cradley Day, which this year takes place on Saturday October 2nd at Cradley Community Centre.
