This July, Sefton Council is celebrating two decades of Antony Gormley’s renowned Another Place installation, a striking and much-loved feature of Crosby Beach.
Originally installed in July 2005, the 100 life-sized, 6ft 2” cast iron figures—affectionately known as ‘The Iron Men’—have become a permanent fixture along a two-mile stretch of coastline between Waterloo and Blundellsands. The installation has drawn millions of visitors from around the world and remains a powerful symbol of the area’s cultural identity.
To honour the 20th anniversary, Sefton Council is launching a touring exhibition titled Men for All Seasons. The display will showcase 20 atmospheric landscape photographs by local photographer Ron Davies, taken over the past twenty years. The images celebrate the artwork in all weather conditions and across the changing seasons, highlighting its enduring presence and impact.
Sefton’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Partnership Engagement, Councillor Liz Dowd, said:
“Our ‘Iron Men’ have become friends to millions of people over the years – including Sefton residents and many, many visitors who have made the pilgrimage to Crosby beach to pose alongside them.
“The exhibition will also give people a chance to learn about facts and trivia from the last 20 years, especially how people have taken them to their hearts – and how they have become part of popular culture.”
Over the past 20 years, the Iron Men have become intrinsically linked to Sefton’s communities and its visitors. The sculptures are regularly dressed up by members of the public, often for fun and sometimes to represent culture or celebration.
Fellow Sefton Cabinet Member and journalist, Councillor Peter Harvey, who was editor of newspapers including the Crosby Herald in 2005, said:
“The Crosby Herald broke the exclusive story of plans for the ‘Iron Men of the Mersey’ not knowing how much influence they would have on the culture, identity, and personality of our area, or how much joy they would bring.
“The Iron Men were welcomed to Sefton as visitors – but today there is no doubt that Crosby beach is their home. They are part of the family.”
Crosby resident Ron Davies said:
“I have visited Another Place hundreds, possibly thousands, of times over the last 20 years – and on each visit there is something new to capture.
“The Iron Men enrich the already beautiful Sefton coast making a perfect foreground against which to capture the wonders of nature. From sunrises and sunsets to brooding storms, snowscapes and even the Northern lights, every visit offers fresh opportunities for a photographer.
“Thanks to Sefton Council this exhibition will reflect how Gormley’s 100 sculptures have been Crosby and Sefton’s steadfast, weather-worn lookouts for over 20 years.”
The exhibition, which will also tell the 20-year story of Another Place, will tour Sefton including Crosby, Bootle and The Atkinson, Southport. More details on dates and times are due to be released soon.
Discussing his artwork in 2015, Antony Gormley said:
“I always wanted this to be an open work. The sculptures that comprise Another Place are not statues of ideal or heroic figures from history, they are simply copies of my own body that I used to indicate a human space in space at large.
“What I couldn’t imagine was that Another Place would prove to be a resonator for the thoughts, feelings and hopes of so many people from Merseyside, the UK and the World.
“It is wonderful that it has found a place in the memory and imaginations of so many, from the solitary winter walker to the myriad summertime families, and that the barnacles have made it their watery home.”
You can find out more about Sefton’s beautiful coast here.
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