Visible Women UK, the same brilliant minds who brought us the Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis have just secured planning permission for a new life-size statue of literary legend and queer icon Sylvia Townsend Warner in Dorchester. The unveiling is locked in for 14 December 2025. However, the team need a little support to finish the job. Read on to see how you can help.
Let’s just pause for a sec. This will be only the second statue in the whole of the UK to honour an openly lesbian woman, which might not sound like a big deal, but when you consider that according to the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (report from 2020), there are approximately 828 statues in the UK, 174 are women, 534 are men. Even amongst the 174 statues of women, 15 are mythical or otherwise fictional (is it an inappropriate time to request a Villanelle statue?).
The first openly sapphic statue was Anne Lister back in 2021 (shoutout to our fave Yorkshire diarist). So yeah, we’ll definitely take another, and it’s about time Sylvia got her flowers – and in bronze, no less. Plus, the Sylvia statue also features her cat – absolute win for the sapphics, am I right or am I right?
Who Was Sylvia Townsend Warner?
Don’t worry if you’ve not heard of her – that’s exactly what this statue is trying to change.
Born in 1893, Sylvia was a total powerhouse: a novelist, poet, musicologist, and unapologetic anti-fascist. Her writing was radical and genre-defying, dipping into fantasy, political commentary, and historical fiction like it was no big deal. Think of her as the quietly rebellious bookish aunt you wish you had.
And she was proudly queer. Sylvia spent her life with fellow writer Valentine Ackland.
Why a Statue Matters. Anya Pearson, Chair of Visible Women UK, put it best:
“Visibility is key, especially for our LGBTQ+ communities at a time when this marginalised group is constantly under attack. Sylvia’s statue will stand as a proud reminder of resilience, brilliance, and belonging.” Couldn’t agree more, Anya.
The statue is being created by Denise Dutton, the sculptor behind the Mary Anning statue. Which means we’re in very safe (and talented) hands. Work has already started, but here’s the kicker – they still need to raise £5,000 to finish the job.
On top of that, there’s a plan to raise another £10,000 to help sort through and share Sylvia’s incredible archive at the Dorset History Centre. It’s basically a treasure trove of sapphic history just waiting to be seen by the world.
How You Can Help
So yeah, they need a bit of help to put Sylvia back where she belongs – in the centre of literary history, feminist archives, and the queer canon. To support, you can donate to the Crowdfunder and share this article.
We look forward to seeing the statue,
Nonchalant x
This article was written by one of our creative team writers here at Nonchalant Magazine.
