Huge outpouring of love and donations help restore vandalised wooden statue in Buxton

A wooden sculpture damaged by vandals who carved anti-semitic graffiti into it is now looking better than ever after the community came together and raised money for repairs.
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The Jack the Limeworker statute pays tribute to the limeworkers who worked the area in the 18th and 19th centuries and has been a key feature in Grin Low Woods, which are owned by Buxton Civic Association (BCA), since 2016.

Following on from the hateful vandalism last month, almost £1,500 has been raised by the public to cover the cost of his repairs and original sculptor Lorraine Botterill was able to come to Buxton to fix Jack and give him a new lease of life.

The newly restored Jack the Lime worker sitting proudly in Grin Low Woods once againThe newly restored Jack the Lime worker sitting proudly in Grin Low Woods once again
The newly restored Jack the Lime worker sitting proudly in Grin Low Woods once again
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Lucy Marsden, a voluntary director at BCA, said: “I think he looks even better than before and our huge thanks go to the public for showing their love and passion for him.

"I’m blown away by how much we have received from people, not just in money but in messages of support.

"What happened was horrible but I will not be giving those horrible vandals any time as now we are looking to the future.”

Thankfully sculptor Lorraine not only had time to come and repair Jack, but also still had some of the original wood she used to make the restoration work look more natural.

A new lease of life for Jack the Lime workerA new lease of life for Jack the Lime worker
A new lease of life for Jack the Lime worker
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Lucy said: “She worked so hard and had to completely remodel his face to cover the vandalism on his forehead and gave him a new back too. She’s worked wonders on him.”

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The work was finished at the end of April and since then Jack has once again proved to be the go to place in the woods with people all flocking to have their picture taken with him.

The restoration work cost £600 and the remaining money will go to repairing and restoring other statues in the woods.

Lucy added: “We have always said we’d love to get a female quarry worker to sit alongside Jack as it wasn’t just men who were at work, it was women and young children too.

Sculptor Lorraine Botterill hard at work restoring JackSculptor Lorraine Botterill hard at work restoring Jack
Sculptor Lorraine Botterill hard at work restoring Jack
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"We would love to expand our statutes to capture the true history of industrial heritage but another sculpture would cost around £3,500 so it might be a long way off.”

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