Penis Size MATTERS


The Church Stone




	The Church Stone, also called Wote Street Willy in Wote Street, town centre in Basingstoke. The largest statue of a penis on public display in Britain. The image of a mother and child is carved into the side of the sculpture, and its phallic appearance was apparently overlooked by planners until its erection



	Weighing in at 7 tonnes, Basingstoke has the largest phallus on public display in Britain.



	The silver grey granite sculpture in Wote Street is The Church Stone by Michael Pegler. Michael Pegler is a member of The Royal Society Of British Sculptors. Almost three metres in height, and weighing seven tonnes, it took two years to hand carve. The sculpture was produced specifically for the site to commemorate the Emmanuel Church, which stood nearby until 1969. The artist was inspired by the town’s Roman history and was keen to evoke a sense of introspection and contemplation through his work.



	The Church Stone is not on a plinth; it stands almost three metres high and the main element is a single block of hand carved and polished silver grey granite with a pre-carved weight of over thirteen tonnes. Inset into the ground and with four inset granite panels surrounding it; it gives the appearance of growing though the street bricks - an ancient material in a new context.



	This sculpture makes reference to a lost church; to nearby Roman Silchester incorporating amphorae/pottery forms, to Stonehenge (and menhir in general) and to the ontology of the material from which it is made.



	The Church Stone, - 1994 Location: Basingstoke Town Centre, UK. Size: 300cm x 120cm x 85cm. Granite. The seven tonne Church Stone by Michael Pegler commemorates the Emmanuel Church, which stood nearby until 1969.