Perched above the Atlantic breakers, the imposing bronze statue of a regal figure clutching a sword and gazing back across the ruins of Tintagel castle and towards the Cornish mainland is certainly impressive.
“Brilliant, isn’t it?” said Matt Ward, the property manager of this most atmospheric spot. “I think the visitors are going to love it. Imagine it when a sea mist comes in. It will look amazing.”
Press Ward on who the statue represents, however, and he becomes a little more wary. Is it King Arthur? Is that sword Excalibur? “It’s up to you, it’s up to the visitors to decide. You can interpret it how you like.”
Ward is probably right to be careful. Earlier this year a row broke out over Tintagel, the legendary site of King Arthur’s conception, after its modern-day guardians, English Heritage, unveiled a carving of Merlin’s face in a rockface at the site.
There were howls of protest from Cornish nationalists and historians, who claimed English Heritage was guilty of the “Disneyfication” of Tintagel and ignoring its true Cornish history.
Later this week the public and the critics will get a chance to cast an eye over the new statue, which is so large that it had to be helicoptered to the peninsula fortress, and decide for themselves if it is the “once and future king” – and whether or not it is an example of rampant commercialisation.
More in the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/24/kingly-statue-plunges-sword-into-tintagels-arthurian-row
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road