During his year as Mayor of Bournemouth, Keith Rawlings commissioned
sculptor Jonathan Sells to provide some public art, Bournemouth having little
in the way of statues. Mayor Rawlings identified Lewis Tregonwell, the founder
of the town, and Christopher Crabb Creeke, the first paid surveyor to the
Bournemouth Commissioners, as the two individuals whose contribution to
Bournemouth was significant enough to justify their commemoration.
Tregonwell is shown with a bucket and spade, to show his
role in bringing people to Bournemouth to enjoy the seaside. He also carries a
scroll with the names of three locally born men who were awarded the Victoria
Cross.
Creeke, rather cheekily, is shown sitting thoughtfully on a
water closet, as one of his main tasks in 1856 was to improve the sewers in
Bournemouth. He was also responsible for repairing the roads and for providing
the town with a pier or jetty. He lived centrally at Lainston Villa, in the
grounds of Portman Lodge (the first building erected in the town by
Tregonwell).
Michael Stead, Heritage
Team, Bournemouth Libraries
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