16 October 2019

Tribute to beloved Adoption Star arrives at Caldecott

A new, exciting project is taking shape at Redwings Caldecott!

The Memory Garden will provide a welcoming and reflective space for our supporters to remember lost loved ones, both people and pets. Situated in a former paddock no longer suitable for grazing, close to our new rehoming centre, the garden will take pride of place near to our wonderful horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

As you may already have noticed, the garden is already home to a stunning life-size horse sculpture by Norfolk artist, Connie Adam (pictured above). This beautiful piece has been modelled on much-loved former Redwings resident and Adoption Star Welbeck.

Welbeck arrived at Redwings in 1990 after a busy career as a Police horse, which included being on duty during the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. He lived happily at the Sanctuary for 13 years and was incredibly popular with supporters, so he was a fitting choice to commemorate in this special way in our new memory garden.

See a video below of the sculpture’s arrival at Redwings Caldecott.

Work to landscape and plant the new garden will take place during the autumn months and we hope the garden will be able to welcome its first visitors in early 2020.

During this time we will be moving all the plaques from our existing memorial area to their new position in The Memory Garden. This means, for a short period, these plaques will be inaccessible to visitors. Please call us on 01508 481000 to check on the latest developments before making your trip if you wish to visit your plaque.

With the new Memory Garden, we’re also pleased to be able to introduce new options to remember a loved one or pet, including stainless steel plaques, engraved slate memorial stones and memorial benches. We’ll be updating you with further information on these options very soon but if you would like find out more, please call us or email fundraising@redwings.co.uk.

We’re extremely grateful to a number of local businesses and sponsors whose support has helped to make this project possible. If you would also like to contribute to the development of The Memory Garden, then we would love for you to get in touch. Please call 01508 481000 or write to us at ‘The Memory Garden Project’, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Hapton, Norwich, NR15 1SP.

We look forward to bringing you more news soon!