More of Peter Gabbitass' great grandchildren come to see the Downs bench

After the visit by John in February to see the image of his great-grandfather Peter Gabbitass carved into the Downs bench, I have now welcomed three more of the poet's great-grandchildren to my studio to see his portrait.

A couple of weeks ago, Heather, Steve (aka Michael) and Heather's husband Fred came to visit.

They told me how Peter Gabbitass was a carpenter and joiner before deciding to become a poet and that the the Windsor chairs that he made at his workshop in Worksop, Nottinghamshire are now very valuable and sought after. Although he was not a rich man when he died, he left the money that he had to his gardener.

Last week, Eric and his wife Stella also dropped by. It's been real pleasure to share the carving with members of the family and to hear more about the man himself from them.

A surprise visit from Peter Gabbitass' great grandson, to see his ancestor carved on the Downs bench

As I was working today in my studio with music playing on the stereo, I didn't see two people patiently waiting for me to look up. It was a visit from the great-grandson of Peter Gabbitass (the 'Clifton Poet') whose likeness is carved into the Downs bench that I am currently making.

The visit was a complete surprise to me but a very welcome one. John was very interested to see the carving of his great-grandfather and it was a pleasure to give them a sneak preview of the rest of the bench as well.

It is getting closer to completion! The bearers are now all carved. The last one to be made has been a crinoid (also called a sea lily), which would have lived in the seas of the Carboniferous Period around 350 million years ago. What became the limestone underneath the Downs was laid down during this time.

Here are all three bearers, depicting a crinoid, a brachiopod and a colonial coral: