Artwork celebrates life and courage of Mary Ann Matcham
The sculpture of a woman who fled an American slave state has been unveiled overlooking the Tyne. Tony Henderson reports
A two-year project to honour the courage of an enslaved woman who made a new life for herself in a Tyneside town is now complete.
The unveiling has taken place of a bronze sculpture of Mary Ann Matcham, overlooking the Tyne and out to sea at North Shields.
The three-metre-high sculpture by North Shields artist Keith Barrett has been installed above the new Riverside Embankment Walkway linking the town centre with the Fish Quay.
The project has been supported by the North East Combined Authority through the Transforming Cities Fund.
Mary Ann fled a Virginia plantation, evading capture and stowing away aboard a ship to Europe. She arrived in North Shields by road on Christmas Day 1831, where she was taken in by the local Spence family, prominent Quakers who campaigned for the abolition of slavery.
Keith combined the imagery of Mary Ann in the style of a ship’s figurehead but also portrayed her as a real person, with outstretched arms and broken chains.
“She is a figurehead for her courage in escaping, crossing the ocean and finding freedom and is an inspiration for people to look up to.”
North Tyneside Elected Mayor Karen Clark said: “Mary Ann’s story is one of extraordinary courage, and it’s right that we honour her legacy in the heart of the town she came to call home.
“This sculpture is a powerful symbol of resilience and community support, values that are still at the heart of North Tyneside today. I’m proud to unveil this artwork as part of our North Shields 800 celebrations, and I hope it inspires reflection and pride in our shared history.”
Mary Ann’s statue joins a series of public artworks in North Shields, including a tribute to Second World War hero Thomas Brown in the new Town Square named after him and a series of dramatic murals on buildings across the town to form a trail.
Mary Ann and her husband James Blyth, a local rope maker, are buried in the town’s Preston Cemetery.