Altrincham Totem
The Altrincham Totem is an art installation on Stamford New Road in Altrincham, Trafford. It was installed in 2016 and celebrates the town's 1290 market charter. The totem was created by Chris Brammall and is made from lacquered steel.
The totem is 13 feet tall and consists of the repeated wording ALTRINCHAM
, MARKET
, TOWN
, and 1290
.[1] The words illuminate with a backlight during the night-time.
History
At some point in the mid-2010s, Trafford Council commissioned Chris Brammall to create the Altrincham Totem, and paid £15,232 for the work as well as the two surrounding bollards.[2]
The totem was installed on Stamford New Road in June 2016 for a cost of £790, bringing the total cost of the project to £16,022. This proved somewhat controversial at the time as Trafford Council was facing tough decisions to balance its budget.[2]
The Altrincham Totem was later mentioned in national press when it was found that the £16,000 art installation
had a spelling mistake, with an instance of MMARKET
containing two Ms. Trafford Council responded by promising that the issue would be rectified.[1]
Sources
- Altrincham £16,000 gateway sign 'has spelling mistake', BBC News, 17th August 2016, accessed 26th July 2026. ↩ ↩
- Altrincham’s new four-metre steel totem revealed to have cost over £16,000, Altrincham Today, 16th August 2016, accessed 26th July 2026. ↩ ↩