Surrey Street

Winter Gardens

Walking man

The Walking Man by George Fullard outside the Winter Gardens.

When I was a skateboarding youth we used to run for cover, from the rain, to the walkway under the old Town Hall offices - we called it the 'Town Hall steps' or the 'Walking Man'. The latter name was down to the name of the bronze statue that also shared this spot with us.
Since the offices (the 'egg boxes') have been torn down this statue has a been moved twice, and is currently in a great spot outside the Winter Gardens on Surrey Street. I personally hope it stays here.
Created by local artist George Fullard in concrete in 1957, it was bought by the council and turned to bronze in 1985. Fullard was an active socialist and war veteran, there's some snippets of info here and here and a bit more about Walking Man here.