Coronation Crown for Crown Street in a Jewel in Suffolk’s Crown

Bury in Bloom have unveiled their Coronation Crown that could become the centre-piece of their entry into the 2023 Anglia in Bloom competition for 2023.

The 2.7 metre high ‘Gold Crown’ was unveiled on the corner of Crown Street and Honey Hill by local garden writer and horticulturist, Barbara Segall, on Wednesday 17th May after months of planning and preparation.

The semi-circular crown weighing over 500kgs is fabricated in rolled steel which has been powder coated in gold, holds fourteen baskets to represent the ‘Jewels of the Crown’ and the 20sq metre flower bed on which the ‘Crown’ is presented is close planted with red & white petunias to simulate a trimmed red cushion.

The Crown was the inspiration of retiring coordinator David Irvine who continued to oversee the project through to completion after standing down in March while working with the new coordinator Chris Wiley.

David said ‘We had been looking at ideas over the months following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth in September and started looking for a location and thinking about a design before the end of the year. By the time the Coronation date was announced, we were already discussing designs with Viking Forge, but the 6th May meant we had a very tight schedule’.

‘While the fabrication of the crown was going to plan, our problem was always going to be getting the flowers ready and the very cold spring meant that, even under glass the plants didn’t develop quickly enough. As every gardener knows, putting ‘Soft’ spring flowers outside in early May, especially from greenhouse conditions is a recipe for disaster. A frost on the weekend of the coronation, would have been a disastrous. We had no choice but to delay the unveiling until the 17th May after the latest frost date.

Bury in Bloom are very grateful to all of the supporters who made the crown a possibility, but especially the support of Bury St Edmunds Town Council, The Bury Society, West Suffolk Council, Woolpit Nurseries and last minute input by Morrish Structural Engineers. Of course we are massively indebted for the fabrication work put in by Duncan Dyre of Viking Forge.

David said ‘All credit goes to Duncan of Viking Forge who has been able to take a mere figment of my imagination and turn it into a three dimension Gold Steel Crown, able to carry 14 Jewel baskets each weighing 19kgs. The baskets alone weigh 260kgs and we think the whole structure weighs over 750kgs’

The ‘Coronation Crown’ received its licence from Suffolk Highway following the last minute intervention by Moorish Structural Engineers director Jonathan Parker who supplied the calculations and foundation design in time to allow fabrication to begin on the 1st March. Suffolk Highways needed to be sure such a large structure would be safe. ‘We had to dig some very big reinforced holes before the crown was installed’ said David.

Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club offered to move the heavy crown onto its footings and we want to thank the Ladies Team for their help.

The Crown is intended as a temporary structure that will be dismantled in late September.

For more information visit the Bury in Bloom Website.