Bring Pearl Home

In the early 60's the sculptor James Butler RA was commissioned by Maxwell Fry, the architect who designed much of Hatfield Town Centre, to produce a fountain for White Lion Square, which he did and it was subsequently installed and formally unveiled on 18th April 1970. The fountain was decommissioned in 1986 and the centrepiece sculpture, carved from Portland and Derby stone, of a reclining female nude in a shell, locally known as ‘Pearl’, was moved to Hatfield School. The school closed and the site became New Barnfield Library and Resource Centre, which in turn has also closed. In early 2013 the sculpture was removed from the former school site, some minor restoration work was done to it and it is currently languishing in a storage yard forlornly waiting to be re-situated, in a prominent location that’s as yet to be decided despite numerous requests, in Hatfield, where it rightfully belongs.

We, the undersigned, request that as part of the forthcoming redevelopment of White Lion Square that the iconic sculpture of a Reclining Nude in a Shell, ‘Pearl’ by James Butler RA, which formally constituted the centre piece of the fountain in the square, that was commissioned and created specifically for White Lion Square, be reinstated in a prominent location back in White Lion Square. The sculpture ‘Pearl’ was created by James Butler RA who is an internationally renowned artist as a site specific piece to adorn White Lion Square and as such it forms part of Hatfield’s historical and cultural heritage. Every effort should be made to return it to its intended location so that it can once again be enjoyed by the public and once again form a focal point within the square, as was its original intention.