Orme the Viking was designed as part of the Ormesby Beck landscaping project, and was unveiled on April 30th 2012.
Designed by the children of Berwick Hills Primary School with a little help from their teachers, Berwick Hills community worker Catherine Hughes, and Judith Underwood from Groundwork UK, the statue reflects the norse roots of the village’s name, with “orme” or “ormr” (or ᚢᚱᛉ if you want to get Younger Futhark runic about it) meaning “dragon-formed”, “snake” or “serpent” in Old Norse and “by” being a suffix denoting a dwelling place. Due to historic Scandinavian incursions, the area is replete with place names like this, such as Thornaby, Whitby, Tollesby and Maltby.
Photos by Val Jones
Ormesby itself (then a church and manor) was recorded in the Domesday Book as the property of Orme. Whether this means there was an actual fella called Orme who owned it, well that’s harder to be sure about.
The initiative was the work of Ormesby Beck Friendship Group and was part-funded by a Groundwork UK grant. It can be found on Crossfell Road near the beck.
Sources
Gazette Live (May 2nd, 2012)
North East Statues 