Plymouth: Beryl Cook Sculpture Trail (To be finished!)

As part of the centennial celebrations of the work of the Plymouth based artist Beryl Cook, a set of four sculptures of figures was commissioned and placed around the city to make a sculpture trail.  Each sculpture is based on a character from one of her more well known paintings and placed in a similar location in the city to where she based her painting originally.  

These sculptures were only supposed to be in place temporarily and were due to be removed on the 31st July 2026.  They have been so popular that planning permission is being sought to keep them in place until at least 2029 and a further two sculptures have been commissioned.  The fifth has just been placed as of the beginning of April 2026 and the sixth has not been disclosed yet.  I really cannot see why the permission would not be extended, they are such a great addition to the city.

We went to Plymouth and saw three of the four sculptures at the end of March.  We saw a lot of other things too, including the Knife Angel but we didn't make it to the Hoe to see the fourth.  The fifth has been placed on the Hoe as well, so it is perhaps lucky.  Smeaton's Tower will also be open when we return.  There is so much to see on and around the Hoe that we will devote a trip to Plymouth to exploring it soon.  I will update this blog post as we visit the remaining sculptures.

If you want to see the paintings each sculpture was based on and read a little about them, the Box has a great post on the first four sculptures here.  There is a map here.

Note on locations: I like to know exactly where things are before I go somewhere, so I don't get lost or have to hunt for them.  It makes me feel much less stressed!  To help others find them, I have added what 3 words locations for each sculpture.  These are approximate, but if you go to the words I have used, you will be able to see the sculpture.  What 3 Words is a great app for precisely giving locations and is available on most phones.

1.  The Happy Shopper (liability.swift.lamp)

It doesn't get much more everyday than shopping for food and yet the painting that inspired this sculpture is just as fascinating as any other.  According to the Box's blog post on the paintings that inspired each sculpture, Beryl was fascinated with shopping and these simple everyday scenes.  She documented the fashions of the time.  It's clear though that she saw the people around her, the people in this painting have their own style.  The Happy Shopper wears heels and makeup for all that she is pulling a tartan wheeled shopping bag and is looking very purposeful.  Another lady bends over, showing a hint of the top of her stockings and another lady behind the stall looks a little glamorous even.  The market is full of produce and people.

They chose to place the sculpture of the Happy Shopper outside Plymouth Market, where the painting was inspired.  Frankfort Gate is a pretty little square between Western Approach and the market building.  The Happy Shopper strides purposefully along the pavement in front of the entrance to the market at one end of the square.

As the first one we visited I found her to be a little larger than life size without being giant in size.  I liked this as I am a larger lady and I felt akin to her.  Yes, I could very easily be drawn from a Beryl Cook painting.

2. Ruby Venezuela (sorry.mint.first)

The Lockyer Tavern was a pub in Plymouth that Beryl used to often visit but it has since closed and the building been demolished.  The alcohol license was transferred to the Bank, which is a beautiful old bank building next door to the Lockyer that is still a popular pub. It is outside this pub that the sculpture continues to dance next to some steps leading out of the raised beer garden of the Bank.  The beer garden sits where the Lockyer Tavern once sat and this section of Lockyer Street is now a quiet pedestrian walkway between the Bank and a multi-story car park, next door to the Theatre Royal and the clock tower of Derry's Cross.

The Lockyer Tavern was run by a landlord who was an LGBTQ+ ally for many years and the back room of the Lockyer was known for being a safe space.  Homosexuality was illegal at the time so a place like this was very much valued in the community.  It was a community that was not well documented and no photographs of the interior of the pub remain I believe.  Beryl however went there and she watched and she painted the things she saw.  Tom Dancing depicts a group of men watching as two men dance together.  The sculpture is of the figure at the back of the pair, wearing a white suit and platform shoes.  

The painting is called Tom Dancing, but the sculpture is called Ruby Venezuela.  I wonder if the figure at the front is Tom and the one at the back is Ruby?  Ruby Venezuela was a well known Drag Queen in Soho but they were born Brian Pearce and raised in Plymouth where they began their drag career.  

I enjoyed this sculpture and I had a little go at dancing with him!  I could only just reach both of his hands at the same time and he is definitely a better dancer than me.  He would have been very fashionably dressed in the 70s when he was painted!

3. Sailor (vocal.risks.always)

Plymouth is a naval town and full of sailors to this day, although I have not personally seen one walking round in an old sailors uniform, it was a common thing in the 70s and something Beryl was fascinated by and often painted.  This picture shows four sailors in uniform sat on a bench, talking and smoking as they watch two seagulls on some railing.  One of the seagulls is obviously mid-call and one of the sailors looks less than impressed by the noise.  To the left, one of Beryl's dogs has dropped it's ball but the sailors are too distracted by the sea gulls.

I have no idea whereabouts this picture was inspired by.  Plymouth has so much coastline and a lot of very well positioned benches to enjoy the views.  The plants are semi-tropical and it was common for such plants to be grown in southern coastal towns, I think to help tourists feel like they were on holiday and somewhere truly exotic.  This sculpture has been placed in the Barbican, which remains a vibrant harbourside area which the sailors would still recognise.  The Sailor is sat on a bench just outside the Dolphin on Southside Street.

The Barbican is a lively place, full of pubs and places to eat and things for people to come and see.  I imagine it gets visited by a few hen parties and the sailor probably gets a kiss or two of the cheek.  I didn't, I sat nicely and politely next to him.  Am I allowed to have a favourite?

4. Bowler (by the bowling green in the Hoe Park, I will post a better location when I have visited)

This is the statue we didn't quite get to and probably one of people's favourite's.  Certainly Sabotage is one of Beryl's most loved creations.  It shows three ladies in their white bowling outfits.  One lady is bent over, considering her next move, while a second stands watching her.  The third figure however is seeking to throw her off her game by distracting her with a cheekily placed finger.

I am sure I heard somewhere, I think it may have been at the Box's Peep Show exhibition earlier this year, that this was part of a set of three.  Each image shows a different angle of the 'event'  so that in one image you can clearly see the surprise on the ladies face but possibly not what is happening to her.

It is not surprising that this sculpture has been placed next to the Bowling Green in the park on the Hoe.  The Bowling Green sits up near the junction of Citadel Road and Osborne Place.  I look forward to seeing it!

5.  Hips and Chips (on Hoe Road near the lowest level of the Belvedere)

This is the very recent addition to the trail and features two figures sat on a bench eating fish and chips.  This is a very common thing to happen!  I myself have often eaten fish and chips while admiring a lovely view of the sea.  Except, this is not what is happening here exactly....

In the picture, Hips and Chips, three figures are sat eating their fish and chips but they are a little distracted by the person who has just walked past them and are giving them the side eye as they try not to stare....  and fail.  The person who has just passed is wearing bright red and has wide hips and lots of confidence.

Already my social media is full of pictures and I think it was only placed on Monday! (30/3/26)

I believe this sculpture is on one of the benches placed along Hoe Road, just by the Belvedere, also known as the wedding cake.

6.  Watch this space!