IN PICTURES: New sculpture that celebrates Bridlington’s forgotten past is unveiled

The Barrow Boy statue commemorates the children who earned a small fee by using wheelbarrows to carry holidaymakers’ luggage to hotels and guesthouses between the 1930s and the early 1980s.

As another nod to the station history it also features Lucy the station cat.

Around 30 former ‘Barrow Boys’ were at Bridlington station on Thursday to watch the unveiling ceremony.

Pete Myers, Chair of the Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership (YCCRP), introduced the Mayor of Bridlington and Councillor Rick Arrand who performed the unveiling. The Reverend Neil Bowler and Father Albert Schembri then gave a blessing and said prayers.

The sculpture stands at over 5ft tall and is cast in bronze. It is located on the concourse of the station, which is operated by Northern and used by more than 480,000 customers a year.

It was sculpted by Stephen Carvill, the talented artist who also created the famous Gansey Girl sculpture for Bridlington Harbour's north pier.

The YCCRP has worked with Northern and Network Rail to deliver the artwork project over the last year.

Pete Myers, Chair of YCCRP, said: “I would like to see one of these statues or something similar at many of our seaside towns, to celebrate their history and heritage and the unique entrepreneurial industry of the people who live there.

“Bridlington is a nice station as it’s always decorated with lovely floral displays and this will add to that. But it won’t just benefit customers, it will give the town of Bridlington something to be proud of.”

Darren Allsopp, stakeholder manager for Northern, said: “This is a fantastic piece of art which commemorates an important part of Bridlington’s railway history and I was delighted to see that some of the Barrow Boys made it to the unveiling ceremony at the station.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has worked hard to deliver a sculpture which will be enjoyed by customers for years to come.”

It was a common sight in the 1950s and 60s to see barrow boys and girls waiting on platforms with their homemade barrows, to transport holidaymakers' luggage to hotels and guesthouses. This statue, which is cast in bronze, shows a small boy, complete with barrow and suitcases. As another nod to the station history it also features Lucy the station cat.

The YCCRP would like to hear from former Barrow boys and girls so that they can collect their stories, memories and photos for a book which they have commissioned author Faith Young to write as the next part of this project. Those interested can contact Faith on [email protected].

The Barrow Boy project has been funded and supported by Yorkshire Coast BID, Community Rail Network, Bridlington Town Council and the YCCRP, with support from Northern.

It comes after Network Rail improved accessibility at the station in East Yorkshire earlier this year by installing two lifts to the station’s historic footbridge, as part of a £5 million project.