Designating Crawick Multiverse, Sanquhar
Feedback updated 4 Apr 2024
We asked
From 29 January to 19 February 2024, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on a proposal to include Crawick Multiverse on the Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes.
As the largest and final completed land art project by Charles Jencks in the UK, the site is an important representation of his work, drawing on his earlier works, and a lifetime of postmodern critical enquiry into the nature and meaning of art, architecture and culture.
Through Citizen Space, we invited members of the public to tell us if they agreed with the proposed designation and if they had further comments to make.
We consulted directly with Dumfries and Galloway Council as the planning authority, Crawick Multiverse Board of Trustees, Buccleuch Estates and other interested parties – The 20th Century Society, Docomomo and Scotland’s Garden and Landscape Heritage.
Our selection guidance for designation and the policies we work to are published in the Designations Policy and Selection Guidance document.
You said
We received 4 responses from those we consulted with directly. We received no responses to our online survey.
No one raised issues that brought into question the cultural significance of the site for designation.
We have reported in more detail on the consultation in our Report on Handling, which can be downloaded from the Heritage Portal.
We did
After considering the comments received during consultation, we have
- Added the site to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscape as Crawick Multiverse
We have published a Report on Handling for this case on the Heritage Portal
Results updated 4 Apr 2024
Download our Report of Handling:
Files:
- Crawick Multiverse - Report of Handling, 442.4 KB (PDF document)
Links:
Overview
We propose to designate Crawick Multiverse on the inventory of gardens and designed landscapes.
Created from a former coal mine by the renowned cultural theorist and landscape designer, Charles Jencks (1936–2019), Crawick Multiverse is an outstanding example of early- 21st century land art in Scotland.
The design uses landforms, water features and stone arrangements on a grand scale to convey scientific, spiritual and cosmological themes. It evokes Scotland’s prehistoric landscapes and relates to the area's more recent industrial past.
As the largest and final completed land art project by Jencks in the UK, the site is an important representation of his work, drawing on his earlier works, and a lifetime of postmodern critical enquiry into the nature and meaning of art, architecture, and culture.
We are now gathering views on our proposal to add this site to the inventory.
Read more about why we think Crawick Multiverse is of national importance by downloading our Report of Handling.
How we designate gardens and designed landscapes
We designate gardens and designed landscapes of national importance. A dedicated team researches and assesses all designation applications.
- Find out more about gardens and designed landscapes in the Advice and Support section of the Historic Environment Scotland website.
- Find out more about our project on Designed Landscapes of the Recent Past
- Read our Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)
Why your views matter
We’d love to know whether you agree with our proposal.
To help you respond to the following survey, please read why we think Crawick Multiverse is of national importance for the inventory by downloading our Report of Handling.
You can tell us if you agree with our proposal by completing the short questionnaire below.
This questionnaire usually takes 5 minutes to complete.
Find out what comments we consider and what happens next in our consultation guide or watch our designations video on YouTube.
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