The team behind Cornwall’s famous Man Engine is back with an ambitious new project – to create the world’s largest labyrinth that they hope will last for the next 4,000 years.

They are now calling for support from the Cornish community and beyond for the permanent, living monument by Colliford Lake on Bodmin Moor.

Built of traditional Cornish hedging with a 56 metre diameter, Kerdroya the Cornish Landscape Labyrinth is envisaged as a major new piece of public art to last for generations to come by creator Will Coleman, who was responsible for the a giant mechanical puppet that personified Cornish mining heritage and drew thousands of spectators as he toured through the Cornish Mining Landscape in 2016.

Visitors will have a fully immersive experience as they walk a single, winding path through stretches of stonework that celebrate the different hedging styles from all 12 Cornwall Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – and it’s here that the community of Cornwall and beyond can play a part.

The team are looking for local, national and international sponsorship for the project with everything from corporate sponsorship to the community led ‘Hedge Pledge’. As part of the ‘Hedge Pledge’, people are being offered the chance to own their own stretch of labyrinth for £220.

Will, director of Golden Tree Productions behind the project, said: “We’re asking one and all to join us to create Kerdroya, a living testament to culture, habitat and skill.

“Not only will you support the building of the hedge, your money will make a difference to 62 apprentice hedgers, tens of thousands of species of insects and pollinators, plus 600 types of flowering plants –it’s a deep investment in Cornwall’s future.”

Falmouth Packet:

Will Coleman at the Kerdroya site. Photo: Hana Backland

Befitting the project, he added in Cornish: “Y’gan keow y hwhelir anethow!” (Translated to: “Cornish hedges are one of our great-unsung wonders.”) For £220, each donor will choose their own stretch of the labyrinth’s hedge that represents an actual Cornish location.

Embedded on each yard of hedge will be a ‘marker disk’ made by Colliford father and son duo the Thrussells, so that each message to the future stays for hundreds of years to come as a permanent family heirloom.

Corporate sponsorship packages start with a ‘bench mark’, which will provides visitors a place to sit and contemplate their surroundings, continuing up to a headline sponsorship package for ‘The Heart of Kerdroya’, which will fund the ten metre diameter circular space that will sit at the core of the monument.

Hand-held devices will give people the chance to discover digitally the 12 locations that make up the sections of the labyrinth, while the ten metre circular space will open out to views across the moorland and lake.

There will also be a newly commissioned art installation.

It is designed as a showcase for the ancient craft of Cornish hedging, and its cultural and geological importance, and while larger mazes exist, it is said that Kerdroya will be the largest classical labyrinth in the world.

Schools and community groups will work with master hedgers to restore stretches of Cornish hedge and pass on the ancient craft of hedging to the next generation.

As part of this training, the project also plays host to 62 apprentice Cornish hedgers who will be part of the team constructing the labyrinth.

It is expected that the Kerdroya Cornish Landscape Labyrinth will open in November, with construction starting in April.

It is being part-funded by investment from Cornwall AONB, Arts Council England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Cornwall Council.

The website to sponsor a yard of Kerdroya, hedgepledge.co.uk, will open on March 2 and in the meantime, to register interest in the Hedge Pledge or for more information on corporate sponsorship email kerdroya@wildwestcomms.co.uk.