The birth of the concrete cows
Memories of helping to make MK's famous icons
One day, many moons ago, I heard that the Development Corporation had appointed a new community arts worker. Coming from West coast , US of A, Liz Leyh came up with inspirational ideas to work with community groups and schools. As the green space of North Bucks was to have a whole new city built upon it, Liz wanted something to remind the inhabitants that farm animals had once grazed where concrete and bricks now stood. Eventually she hit upon the idea of building Concrete Cows.
Making the cows
She built the cows with the help of various Primary Schools. She let people know that she would appreciate some adult help when the children were painting the cows, so on a couple of days I went along – and helped to paint the cows in a field beside the railway bridge at Stacey Bushes.
First public reaction
In the weeks following the building of the cows, during visits to Stacey Bushes as part of a Young Arrivals Service, I heard people in the street talking about the Development Corporation. “See what they’re doing now! Spending a quarter of a million pounds on building concrete cows.” There was much criticism, as you would expect, of the plans of this unelected body and much rumour of their activities. My memory is that Liz spent about £35 on materials – scrounging a lot more – one of the essential skills of a Community Arts Worker. The Development Corporation at the time was spending a great deal of money on advertising the New City.
Publicity value
The Concrete Cows quickly became known all over the country and subsequently all over the world .Their publicity value was probably the £250,000 which street talk on Stacey Bushes considered the original cost. In the years that followed, many antics would be stimulated by the cows; cowpats made out of paper mache, milking parties etc. Sometimes the cows lost bits and much was replaced and many repairs occured. A new set were built in the National Hockey Stadium when the MK Dons took over as a football league team. The stadium stand took on the name of the Cowshed and this name has transferred to the south stand of the new Stadium:mk.
The original of this contribution was created as part of the My Webpage website – a collection of stories and memories written by a group of learners on a Living Archive creative IT course
Comments about this page
I moved to Wolverton in October 1959 aged 12, with my parents and six brothers. We lived at 27 Church Street which was pulled down to make way for the Agora, which I understand has now been pulled down.
My father “Jack” was Wolverton’s first driving instructor working for Ray Sellick who owned the garages in Wolverton, opposite my old college (now gone too) and Newport Road New Bradwell before starting his own driving school..
I had the good fortune to deliver the Sunday newspapers to the Gurneys at Stacey Hill Farm early 1960’s. It was the first drop on my round which covered the farm side of Southern Way. Could be bitterly cold in Winter. The Sunday papers were co-ordinated from a “shack”, which during the week was a betting shop located in Radcliffe Street behind Kings, the bakers and would have been demolished with my former home.
When I was at school I used to go and do art every Monday evening with liz. I remember the cows being assembled, using a welded steel frame as a base. She then used chicken wire, which I helped stuff with newspaper. She covered this with concrete before using coloured concrete to make shapes and blotches. So the cow patterns were originally without paint. Every cow had a heart shape on it somewhere. She had talked about doing an entire farm. Anyway, I still remember helping mix some of the concrete.
In addition to this she built a concrete snow man in the back garden, worked with children to decorate unsurpassed and I also helped out when she did the owl and the pussycat at partners bridge. Happy times.I still do art, pottery, so the art buzz is still there.
Alex
I attended several courses at Bletchley Park in the early 70s, one evening a car load of colleagues popped over for a visit.
We quickly realised there were no pats and scrounged sand and cement from the Park maintenance staff to make concrete pats in carrier bags.
I do have to mention the staff spent lots of their time repairing damage caused by students pranks and a request for help was not initially welcomed but as soon as they heard our plans were keen to help.
I used to visit Liz Leyh every Monday after school, as she used to teach me art. I remeber seeing the cows, starting as a welded metal frame for the legs and chicken wire construct for the body. My big claim to fame is that I helped stuff the animals with newspaper and also mixed up some of the cement. Originally the cows were coloured with concrete dye and each one sported a heart somewhere on the cowprint hide.
I also spent a fun summer holiday with Liz and co while she worked on the Owl and the Pussycat.
Although I never went on to be a great artist etc. I did keep up with art, inspired by those years, and have learnt to throw pots, which I occasionally sell. I now try and inspire my children with the same love of art. So the cows and Liz had a big impact on me.
Alex
My claim to fame was that whilst working for AGB builders merchants I delivered the bags of cement for the making of the concrete cows, I saw the wire frame work of the cows and asked what were they, when told I didnt realise that one day they would be a world wide icon of our great city of Milton Keynes
I have been catching up on my life and part of my life was the concrete cows. I left school in Wolverton when I was 16. I lived at Stacey Bushes and found a summer job at Stacey Bushes farm. I worked with Liz Leyh we did giant cabbages, a play ground, painted an underpass did a school play bus and I did quite alot of work on the concrete cows. I didnt help put them up though as the six weeks finished for me and I started college. Looking at the history of the cows was very interesting!! Keep up the good work. Linda
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