Angel of the North - wikipedia Angel of the North Angel of the North The Angel of the North, October 2014 Location within Tyne and Wear General information Type Artwork Location Low Eighton, Gateshead, NE9 United Kingdom NE9 7TY Coordinates 54 ° 54 ′ 54 '' N 1 ° 35 ′ 24 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 54.915 ° N 1.59 ° W ﻿ / 54.915 ; - 1.59 Coordinates : 54 ° 54 ′ 54 '' N 1 ° 35 ′ 24 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 54.915 ° N 1.59 ° W ﻿ / 54.915 ; - 1.59 Elevation 75 metres ( 246.1 ft ) Construction started Completed 1998 Height 20 metres ( 65.6 ft ) Design and construction Architect Antony Gormley ( artist ) Structural engineer Ove Arup Main contractor Hartlepool Steel Fabrications The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture, designed by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres ( 66 ft ) tall, with wings measuring 54 metres ( 177 ft ) across. The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward ; Gormley did this to create `` a sense of embrace ''. It stands on the hill of Birtley, at Low Eighton in Lamesley, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside, and the East Coast Main Line rail route, south of the site of Team Colliery. Contents 1 Concept 2 Construction 3 Maquettes 4 Other projects 5 Photo gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Concept According to Gormley, the significance of an angel was three-fold : first, to signify that beneath the site of its construction, coal miners worked for two centuries ; second, to grasp the transition from an industrial to an information age, and third, to serve as a focus for our evolving hopes and fears. Construction Work began on the project in 1994, and cost £ 800,000. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. The Angel was finished on 16 February 1998. Due to its exposed location, the sculpture was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph ( 160 km / h ). Thus, foundations containing 600 tonnes ( 590 long tons ; 660 short tons ) of concrete anchor the sculpture to rock 70 feet ( 21 m ) below. The sculpture was built at Hartlepool Steel Fabrications Ltd using COR - TEN weather - resistant steel. It was made in three parts -- with the body weighing 100 tonnes ( 98 long tons ; 110 short tons ) and two wings weighing 50 tonnes ( 49 long tons ; 55 short tons ) each -- then brought to its site by road. It took five hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, up the A19 road to the site. The Angel aroused some controversy in British newspapers, at first, including a `` Gateshead stop the statue '' campaign, while local councillor Martin Callanan was especially strong in his opposition. However, it has since been considered to be a landmark for North East England and has been listed by one organisation as an `` Icon of England ''. It has often been used in film and television to represent Tyneside, as are other local landmarks such as the Tyne Bridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The sculpture is also humorously known by some local people as the `` Gateshead Flasher '', because of its location and appearance. Maquettes Several maquettes were produced during the development stage of the project. A life - size model from which the sculpture was created was sold at auction for £ 2.28 million in July 2008. An additional bronze maquette used in fundraising in the 1990s, owned by Gateshead Council, was valued at £ 1 million on the BBC show Antiques Roadshow on 16 November 2008 -- the most valuable item ever appraised on the programme. In 2011 German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop sold his life - size maquette ( previously kept in the garden of his mansion in Potsdam, Germany ) at an auction at Christie 's in London for £ 3.4 m to an anonymous bidder. Another maquette was donated to the National Gallery of Australia in 2009, and stands in its Sculpture Garden. Other projects Inspired by the Angel of the North, several similar projects have been proposed. The Angel of the South title has been given by some to the Willow Man, which sits to the side of the M5 in Somerset, while a project, informally named the Angel of the South, has been proposed in Ebbsfleet, Kent. The sculpture Brick Man ( also by Gormley ) was proposed for the Holbeck area of Leeds. Photo gallery Detail of the Angel 's body Rear view of Angel of the North ( man - size maquette ) at the National Gallery of Australia A Lego model of Angel of the North in Miniland See also Angel of the West ( 2008 ) Angel of the South Angel of the North statue ( 2009 ) statue by Banksy List of statues by height Wicker man Star of Caledonia References Jump up ^ `` Facts ''. Gateshead.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` The Angel of the North > Background ''. Gateshead Council. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007. Gormley said of the Angel : ``... The effect of the piece is in the alertness, the awareness of space and the gesture of the wings -- they are not flat, they 're about 3.5 degrees forward and give a sense of embrace. '' Jump up ^ Durham Mining Museum. `` Durham Mining Museum -- 1951 Durham Map 23 ''. Dmm-gallery.org.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` Angel facts ''. Gateshead council. 16 February 1998. Retrieved 16 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` The angel has landed ''. BBC. 16 February 1998. Retrieved 9 March 2007. Jump up ^ `` Angel of the North ''. AboutBritain.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007. Jump up ^ `` Icons of England ''. Icons.org.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2010. Jump up ^ Higgins, Charlotte ( 27 September 2010 ). `` Antony Gormley ''. Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Angel of the north is one in a million ''. Gateshead Council. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` Buyer pays £ 2.3 m for Angel model ''. BBC. 2008 - 07 - 02. Retrieved 2015 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Antiques Roadshow finds £ 1m Angel ''. BBC News. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` Joop lets his angel fly ''. BILD. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Antony Gormley 's ' Angel of North ' sold at auction ''. BBC. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Angel of the North ( life - size maquette ) 1996 ''. Collection search. National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 6 January 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Angel of the North. Gateshead Council 's Angel of the North website Angel of the North -- Antony Gormley 's official website The Angel of the North at icons.org, featuring pictures of the sculpture under construction `` In praise of... the Angel of the North ''. The Guardian. London. 30 January 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2008. Photo showing a maquette in the garden of German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop 's mansion ' Villa Wunderkind ' in Potsdam, Germany Antony Gormley Sculptures Angel of the North Another Place Brick Man Event Horizon Field Havmannen Horizon Field Horizon Field Hamburg Iron : Man One & Other Quantum Cloud Stay Places in Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead Gateshead Bensham Birtley Blaydon Carr Hill Chopwell Deckham Dunston Felling Kibblesworth Lamesley Low Fell Pelaw Rowlands Gill Ryton Sheriff Hill Team Valley Whickham Windy Nook City of Newcastle upon Tyne Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne Arthurs Hill Battlefield Benwell Black Callerton Blakelaw Blucher Brunswick Byker Chapel House City Centre Cochrane Park Cowgate Coxlodge Dene Denton Denton Burn Dinnington East Denton Elswick Fairways Fawdon Fenham Great Park Haymarket Hazlerigg Heaton High Heaton Jesmond Kenton Kingston Park Lemington Manors Newburn North Kenton Ouseburn Parklands Sandyford Scotswood Shieldfield Slatyford South Gosforth Spital Tongues Throckley Walbottle Walker Walkergate Walkerville West Denton West Jesmond Westerhope Westgate Wingrove Woolsington Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside North Shields Wallsend Whitley Bay Backworth Beaumont Park Benton Burradon Cullercoats Earsdon Forest Hall Howdon Killingworth Longbenton Monkseaton Murton New York Preston Seaton Burn Shiremoor St Mary 's Island Tynemouth Wellfield Whitley Lodge Wideopen Willington Quay Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside Hebburn Jarrow South Shields The Boldons Cleadon Harton Marsden Monkton Whitburn City of Sunderland Hetton - le - Hole Houghton - le - Spring Sunderland Washington Ashbrooke Barnes Bishopwearmouth Burdon Carley Hill Castletown Claxheugh Cox Green Downhill Doxford Park Easington Lane East Rainton Elstob Farm Farringdon Fatfield Fence Houses Ford Estate Fulwell Gilley Law Grangetown Grindon Harraton Hastings Hill Hendon Herrington High Moorsley Hill View Hollycarrside Humbledon Hylton Castle Leechmere Marley Pots Millfield Monkwearmouth Newbottle North Haven North Hylton Pallion Pennywell Penshaw Plains Farm Rickleton Redhouse Roker Ryhope Seaburn Seaburn Dene Shiney Row Silksworth South Bents South Hylton Southwick Springwell Springwell Village Sunniside Town End Farm Thorney Close Tunstall Warden Law Witherwack Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angel_of_the_North&oldid=822183622 '' Categories : Sculptures by Antony Gormley Colossal statues in the United Kingdom Sculptures of angels Outdoor sculptures in England Steel sculptures in England Ove Arup buildings and structures 1998 sculptures 1998 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Gateshead Culture in Tyne and Wear Tourist attractions in Tyne and Wear Buildings and structures completed in 1998 Weathering steel Statues in England Northern England Hidden categories : Use British English from December 2015 Use dmy dates from September 2013 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Cebuano Čeština Deutsch Español Français Gaeilge Galego Italiano עברית 日本 語 Polski Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська اردو 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 24 January 2018, at 21 : 54. 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Question: why is the angel of the north there
Answer: to signify that beneath the site of its construction, coal miners worked for two centuries; to signify that beneath the site of its construction, coal miners worked for two centuries