Sydney Mason Collins was a wealthy man whose ancestors came from Chedzoy. He died in 1946 and was buried in our churchyard. As well as serving as a soldier he was a barrister, a fellow of Corpus Christi College and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities.

In 1950 a bronze equestrian statue was erected on his grave. The statue, designed and produced by Cecil Thomas FRBS, depicted Mr Collins dressed as a Captain in the Royal Engineers at the time of the First World War. For almost 60 years this statue dominated the western side of the churchyard. It was a commanding presence, watching silently over the church and churchyard.

Sadly, the statue was stolen from us in 2006 and the village was devastated. Despite extensive enquiries it was never recovered and is believed to have been melted down for the bronze. Some villagers spoke of feeling physically sick when they heard the news, some even broke down in tears. People looked back with fondness to their childhood and happy memories of playing at the base of the statue.

In 2018 the Village Hall Trustees made an offer to the church and the village to reinstate the statue. This offer was gratefully accepted and a replica was commissioned from sculptor Richard Austin who lives in Wadebridge, Cornwall. In June 2020 the replica statue was installed. It is sculpted from ‘Antius Bronze’, a material developed by the sculptor which looks like bronze and is as strong as foundry bronze. There is no scrap metal value in ‘Antius Bronze’.

Our picture shows (left) the original statue and (right) its replacement.

The church and the village remain deeply grateful to the Village Hall Trustees for their most generous gesture.