The Sad Tale of the Withy Man

I wonder how many of you, when bombing down the M5 towards Devon and Cornwall for your holidays, look out for the solitary giant lurking in a field near Bridgwater in Somerset? He's right next to that gigantic camouflage-painted Morrison's distribution centre and he's called the Withy Man (as he was christened by his creator Serena de la Hey). But most people know him as the Willow Man.

The Withy Man

I’ve driven past him regularly during the past quarter century and have watched his slow decline with great sadness. Firstly it was his arms that became tatty as they were stripped of their willow by wind, rain and nestbuilding birds. Then the head vanished. Local newspaper, the Bridgwater Mercury, quite rightly called it a disgrace and claimed that it showed 'a lack of civic pride'. But the local stated that they could no longer afford the repairs. 'Sedgemoor district council is fully aware of the Willow Man’s significance to the area,’ said a spokesperson. ‘We have been helping Serena right from the very inception of the piece and, along with others, have helped fund numerous re-weaves and patching up over the years. But the cash needed is just too much now.' 

The sculpture, made of steamed black maul willow woven around a three-tonne steel framework, was commissioned by the Arts Council and built as part of the Year of the Artist in 2000. The choice of materials was intended to celebrate the significance of willow in the ecology and craft tradition of the Somerset Levels . A year later it was set on fire by vandals but it was rebuilt thanks to funding and public contributions. And over the years Sedgemoor council and local businesses have helped keep the Willow Man standing proud. But the council has made it clear that squeezed budgets mean it can no longer help out. 

And that’s been bad news for the Withy Man.

Serena De la Hey at work

De la Hey did attempt to crowdfund repairs but, even though many people were supportive, she did not reach the target she needed.

In 2018, there seemed to be new hope when a group called Women Together for Willow Equality (WTWE) claimed that it had secured funding for repairs and for a ‘Willow Woman’ to be constructed in time for the 100th anniversary of women being given the right to vote. Sadly, however, it didn't happen - possibly because of a disagreement between the group and the artist chosen to make the female figure, Glenda Garter. Apparently they clashed over the Willow Woman's proportions being ‘too Kim Kardashian’. Here's an artist's impression of how it might have looked.

However, this turned out to be an April Fool’s joke.

Meanwhile, the Willow Man has continued to get shabbier and shabbier and the South-West's equivalent of the 'Angel of the North' is now little more than a metal frame.

De la Hey told The Guardian that she was sad – but also philosophical. 'The nature of the material used meant Willow Man was originally envisaged as a temporary piece, which would stand for only about three years. Back then three years seemed enough to be going on with,' she said. 'But it has become part of people’s lives and has also become part of my professional and personal life. It is my calling card and it will be difficult to let it go. As a person working in willow you have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes it’s easier if you make those decisions at the start. You say this has a certain life and you put in place procedures in the beginning as to what happens when you reach that point.'

New plans occasionally surface such as one in 2023 when a possible replacement figure was proposed, this time made of more resilient material such as stainless steel. However this did rely on a mix of public funding and private investment and the money wasn’t forthcoming. It was also pointed out that the original willow man was made of local natural materials and Somerset has no history of steelworking.

Model of a proposed replacement?

And as recently as 2025 it was reported that the Council was set to receive a funding injection of £35,000 from National Highways' Designated Funding programme to conduct an initial feasibility study into saving the artwork. The study was to explore the potential for repairing, enhancing, and relocating the Willow Man. This financial support would also allow for various activities, including public engagement, preliminary designs, cost estimations, artistic renderings, as well as land ownership and topography surveys to pinpoint suitable relocation sites. The Council encouraged community participation through an online engagement page where residents could share their views.

Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Digital, Councillor Mike Rigby said: "We’re really pleased National Highways have given us this money to explore the possibilities. Willow Man has been a prominent feature for Somerset and it is sad the sculpture is in such a state of disrepair. But we need to be clear that any potential project looking to repair, enhance or relocate Willow Man would be subject to another significant funding bid, or bids – it unfortunately is not a spending priority at this point. Somerset Council is not in a position to commit any funds to the project but we will be looking to explore all future funding options following the engagement and design work."

Meanwhile, Jonathan Hill, National Highways’ Route Manager, said: "At National Highways, our work goes beyond operating, maintaining and improving roads. We’re investing in the environment and communities surrounding our network, as well as the people travelling and working on it. We're providing initial funding to Somerset Council to support their aspirations to realise a project to restore the iconic structure alongside the M5 – a glowing example of how this funding can make life better for communities living and working near our roads. We hope that, by providing the funding to kick-start this project, the council will be able to explore third party funding opportunities to restore or replace this South West landmark.

As yet, the only update on these proposals that I’ve seen said that repair/rebuild would cost at least £1million and funding wasn’t currently available.

That was in 2024 so it doesn’t look good. However, my fingers are crossed.

There's an oft-told story that, during the war, when Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply replied, ‘Then what are we fighting for?’ Unfortunately, this is a case of so-called 'Churchillian Drift' and he never said any such thing. Or, at least, it's not among his 15 million published words in speeches, papers, letters, articles or books. However, I utterly agree with the sentiment. What kind of society do we become when everything we create and value is purely utilitarian? 

It will be a very sad day indeed when the worth of something is decided only by what it is worth.