Clarke Sculpture: Signature and Sign

Date added: 28/08/2026

 ‘Sign’ (2015) by Jonathan Clarke, at Queen Elizabeth School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset.

As you approach

          Queen Elizabeth School,

          Wimborne Minster,

The sculpture faces you,

          emphatically.

Gilded cross emerges

          vertically,

From paths meandering

          horizontally.

The ways interweave

          beautifully,

Reflecting a signature,

          historically.

Elizabeth the First

          extended the ‘z’ of her name,

          flourishingly.

She christened the school,

          royally,

Previously provisioned

          by Margaret Beaufort,

          freely.

Outside the school,

          students sit on signature seats,

          convivially.

The sign of the cross is lifted up

          for the Son of Man gives life,

          eternally.

Graham Kings

25 Aug 2026, Launde Abbey

Notes

John 3.13-14: ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’

In 2014, Jonathan Clarke was commissioned by the trustees of Queen Elizabeth School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset, to create a sculpture to portray the Christian ethos of this Church of England secondary school. The sculpture, ‘Sign’, was opened officially in 2015 and a five-minute film may be seen here. Clips of the making of ‘Sign’ may be seen in the 14-minute film of Jonathan Clarke’s work here.

In 1497, the school was founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, who grew up near Wimborne Minster at Kingston Lacy. Her father, John, is buried in the Minster. In her will, she provisioned for a priest to teach pupils for free at the new grammar school.

In 1563, Queen Elizabeth I reconfirmed the provisions of Lady Margaret’s will, on condition that the school be known as the Queen Elizabeth Free Grammar School.

‘Signature and Sign’ is the seventh and final poem in my series on Jonathan Clarke’s sculptures. The other six may be seen here.