Rugby in Warwickshire is proud of its literary heritage but, apart from a couple of statues, had little to celebrate it. Just before Christmas that was put right with the installation of some highly individual public artwork-cum-seating in Block Stone’s Wattscliffe carboniferous sandstone carved at the Eastside Studio in Birmingham of Michael Scheuermann. The seating, accompanied by stone books and surrounded by Chinese granite paving carved with illustrative references to the literature, fulfils the town’s desire to recognise its authors and become part of the Warwickshire literary trail.

In Rugby’s Jubilee Gardens the statue of a barefoot Rupert Brooke seems to be looking over his shoulder at a new Chesterfield sofa and chair that has just joined him in this public space. He seems to be contemplating taking a rest on the furniture while browsing through the books on and around it.

The Chesterfield sofa and chair look as if you would sink into them… although the solid, raw Wattscliffe carboniferous sandstone from which they are carved, left in its roughly hewn state at the back of the furniture, provides a clue to its real condition.

A short walk away, behind the library and art centre in the Percival Guildhouse Gardens, another piece of furniture, this time a chaise longue, also surrounded by books and sculpted paving, completes the installation. It, too, is emerging from a raw block of stone.

Michael Scheuermann, who designed the pieces, likes contrasts and surprises in his work. He likes the contrast of the finished carving with the raw stone. “Usually in my work I leave an area uncarved. These days everything is perfect. People don’t realise someone had to make it.”

He likes the contrast between the look of a soft sofa that is actually hard stone and put a lot of effort into making it appear authentic. He had long discussions with Martin Geyer, one of those who worked with him on the project, about producing the illusion.

“Martin is studying for his Master of Arts in ceramics at Wolverhampton, but he trained as a stonemason and carver in Germany,” says Michael, who followed a similar route to setting up his own studio,. He served an apprenticeship as a mason and carver in Germany and worked his way round the world before coming to England in 1994. He gained a fine arts degree at Wolverhampton and a Masters (with distinction) at the University of Central England in Birmingham.

When Michael was awarded the commission for the seats in Rugby, Martin was stacking boxes at an aluminium extruders to pay for his studies. He was happy to make the move into Michael’s workshop.

“With Martin I have constructive discussions at a high level,” says Michael. “That’s quite special.”

It was in 2005 that Rugby Borough Council, in association with Rugby First and Warwickshire County Council, initiated the project as part of the Rugby Town Centre Action Plan.

It was felt the town needed to recognise publicly the contribution of the many writers who have been associated with it – that is, who either lived there or were born there. The idea was to put Rugby in its rightful place on the county’s trail of writers, and to enhance the quality of the town’s green spaces in doing so.

The borough council advertised for artists to present proposals for seating that should recognise the town’s literary character. Michael did not actually find the advertisement for himself, but it was passed on to him by a friend.

He resurrected an idea he had had for a project in London of making outdoor seating look like interior soft furniture. In London the project had stalled, but it was still an idea Michael wanted to pursue and in Rugby he also had the opportunity of the literary theme to add the books and a carpet of paving, which made the project even more interesting.

Michael does not like to draw, preferring instead to make models in clay. His wife, Alison, an English jewellery designer who Michael met in China, does draw. It was Alison who came up with the idea of a chaise longue after Michael had modelled the Chesterfield sofa and chair with the Queen Anne style footstool. Michael then used her drawing of it to model it in clay (see the picture on page 18).

“When I have done the work, Alison comes on board. It is devastating because I think what I have done is right. Even a slight criticism is difficult to take. But she sees it with fresh eyes and has some ideas which are better than mine. I find it is quite special to have that relationship with your wife.”

In 2008 Michael was commissioned to produce the pieces he had designed. He chose to use Wattscliffe stone, quarried from Derbyshire by Block Stone, because of its durability and slightly pinkish colour that the suppliers describe as lilac/grey. “I really like the colour. A red sandstone would have been too average… too normal.”

He even liked the fact that it had to be given an anti-graffiti treatment because it brought out the colour slightly.

The Chinese granite for the paving is Yellow Rock and Shiraz, supplied flame textured for slip resistance by Hardscape in Stratford upon Avon and Bolton.

The stone is all carved using König pneumatic hammers that Michael particularly likes because they are responsive. He was assisted in the work by Doris Modersitzki and Christopher Eger, as well as Martin Geyer, and some of the lettering on the paving was cut by Heiko Ehlers.

Originally the council had simply envisaged installing benches, but the involvement of Rugby Borough Council Arts Development led to the more aesthetically ambitious project.

The public were involved in a wide consultation process, and the council received feedback from local writers, as well as community groups and individuals. And since many of Rugby’s notable writers went to the famous Rugby School, the school was also consulted.

As a result of that process the writers chosen to be included were: Rupert Brooke, Lewis Carroll, Matthew Arnold, Gillian Cross, Philip Toynbee, Arthur Ransome, Richard Grant, Thomas Hughes, John Gillespie Magee, Anthony Horowitz, Isabel Wolff, Andrew Norman Wilson, Percy Wyndham Lewis, Denys Watkins Pitchford, Salman Rushdie and Arthur Hugh Clough.

There were some copyright issues to be resolved in using the words of some of the authors as well as illustrations and typefaces created specially for covers. These were overcome in various ways. In some cases permission was gained from the publishers to use their work, as with

Philip Toynbee’s book Platoon, where the cover has been reproduced. For Salman Rushdie’s book Midnight’s Children the font was altered slightly for the carving.

There are 450 letters cut into the Wattscliffe sandstone and granite paving. On the sandstone they appear on the spines of books, on covers and on open pages. All the lettering is hand cut. Michael says: “Lettering should be a beautiful thing but when it’s sandblasted it’s just a square hole.”

Some of the designs on the stone are taken from drawings by Decca Thorne, an illustrator commissioned by the council to create illustrations alluding to the literature. The stone carvers themselves also created some.

Many people using the seats will have fun identifying those allusions, such as the piece of paving (pictured above) that is in front of the chaise longue showing a church clock at ten-to-three (“Stands the church clock at ten-to-three? And is there honey still for tea?” from Rupert Brooke’s poem The Old Vicarage).

Another section of clock face on paving celebrating Salmon Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children has the numerals reading backwards.

Elsewhere there are intriguing little devices to be discovered, such as the steaming cup of tea set between two piles of books with a piece of real porcelain teacup stuck to the stone. “It’s England – there has to be a cup of tea,” says Michael. “It’s what one would do… sit down with a cup of tea and look at a book.”

Robin Richter of Rugby First said after the sculptures had been installed: “These beautifully crafted seats transform the town’s green spaces and create fascinating sites of interest for people to enjoy and relax in. This commemoration of Rugby’s famous writers also has a significant economic benefit in the big boost it provides to the town as a tourism attraction.”

The Mayor of Rugby, Councillor Kam Kaur, said: “This celebration of Rugby’s rich literary heritage is long overdue and is something of which the town and borough should be proud."