Newark College

Robert Kiddey arrived at Newark in 1931 to take up a teaching post at the newly opened Technical College, where he remained for nearly five decades. A popular and respected lecturer, he taught sculpture, drawing, and wood carving to generations of students.

Today, his connection to the College is commemorated in a set of sculptural panels installed in the windows of the single-storey brick building on Bede House Lane. These panels represent a wide range of vocational subjects once taught at the College — from bricklaying and mechanics to hairdressing, basket making, cooking, and secretarial work.

The panel dedicated to the arts is particularly rich in detail. It features an easel, a sculptor’s mallet, an actor in performance, and other artistic symbols. True to Kiddey’s distinctive style, the panels are full of character and eccentric touches — including, delightfully, a roast chicken hidden among the tools and trades depicted.

These sculptures are always visible.