The Organisation

Beginnings

Formed by bringing together a number of overlapping & interlocking communities including local Bedford Park & West London residents with an interest in the area & in the arts & their children’s future inspirations & aspirations, with West London’s & London’s very many poets, writers, artists, actors, local historians, & those who preserve & promote the community’s architectural & artistic heritage, & with poets, academics, critics, Yeatsians & many from around the world who simply love English & Irish literature & drama, we’ve quickly gained enthusiasm, energy and support from the widest possible range of sources in Britain, Ireland, the US & internationally, from local schools & community & commercial organisations through to international academic conferences & societies.

Project Aims

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Registration# 1172224), our Aims & Objectives are:

To advance art & to advance education in the works of WB Yeats & the history & heritage of Bedford Park for the benefit of the public, by the provision of a public artwork in commemoration of the life & works of the Nobel-prizewinning Irish poet & dramatist WB Yeats.
To promote the enhancement & improvement of the area of Bedford Park for the public benefit by the provision of a public artwork.

Project Patrons

Rowan Williams (Baron Williams of Oystermouth PC FBA FRSL FLSW)
Martin Enright (Former President, The Yeats Society, Sligo)
Fergal Keane (Author & Broadcaster)
Marie Heaney (Author)
Ciarán Hinds (Actor)

Project Committee

Fr. Kevin Morris (Vicar of St. Michael & All Angels, Bedford Park, Trustee & Chair)
Polly Devlin OBE (Author, Trustee)
Cahal Dallat (Poet & Musician, Trustee & Hon.Sec.)
Gerald McGregor (Councillor, Hon.Treas.)
Matthew Fay (Academic)
Torin Douglas (Former BBC Media Correspondent, Director of Chiswick Book Festival)

Your support

Thanks to an overwhelming public response we raised almost £200K covering initial infrastructure, professional costs, surveys, and planning application, the artwork itself including groundwork, foundations, plinth/base and engraving, delivery and installation, the creation of schools' Yeats/Bedford-Park workbooks, public lectures, an unveiling event and reception for guests and community groups, a promotional video and the development of our Discover Bedford Park with WB Yeats smartphone #visitorexperience.

Your donation now will pay for ongoing development at the artwork site (security, lighting and CCTV), help cover some three years' increased costs since we set our crowdfund targets in 2020, and help us celebrate Yeats's Nobel Centenary Year with our range of 2023 events, as well as both spreading the word worldwide about London's latest literary landmark/visitor-experience, and furthering our work with schools and community groups!

Donate via PayPal

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*UK taxpayers: you can increase gift value to the project by 25% at no extra cost to you; simply select ‘With GiftAid’ button above, and then tick to ‘share your address’ with us on payment page. By choosing GiftAid option you confirm that the donation is your own money, that you are a UK taxpayer, and have paid or will pay, in the current tax year, the amount of the donation or more in Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax.

Supporters

Thanks to all our many backers who include: the George Frampton Fund, Dukes Education, Embassy of Ireland (London), Embassy of Ireland (Washington), London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Ealing, The Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation (The Poetry Hour), Bedford Park Society, Bedford Park Festival, Chiswick Book Festival, Victoria Miro Gallery, Irish Literary Society, Saint Michael and All Angels Church (Bedford Park), London Buddhist Vihara, Chiswick Pier Trust, Lab 99 Web Design, The Post Room Café, Savills (Estate Agents), Theatre at the Tabard, Horton and Garton (Estate Agents), The Tabard, Innisfree Housing Association, WB Yeats Society of New York, WB Yeats Society of Savannah GA, Jimmy Page and Scarlett Sabet, Rowan Williams, Bob Geldof, Marie Heaney, Jeremy Vine, Carmen Callil, Anne-Marie Fyfe, Polly Devlin, Tom Paulin, Roy Foster, Joan McBreen, Edna and Michael Longley, Fergal Keane, Patrick Corcoran, Miles Parker, Tom Sleigh, Anthony Byrne, Frances O'Leary, Kate McAlister, Kevin McNally, Phyllis Logan, Shevaun Wilder, Ciarán Hinds, Martin and Joyce Enright, Marina Warner, Joseph Hassett, Ron Schuchard, Nessa O'Mahony, Belinda Ashton, plus countless poets, actors, academics, architects, Yeats fanatics, and lovers of all the arts, and literally hundreds of local Bedford Park residents and others local and international, all listed on our two crowdfund websites: