The Spirit of the Medieval Hunter (The Huntress) by Anna Cross, Skipton Castle Woods
The
Huntress
Anna Cross / Anna & the Willow · 2018 original · redesigned by Ruth Thompson / Sylvan Skills in 2024 · Skipton Castle Woods
Archive photo from World Art Utopia, showing the original design. Photographer and camera date are not recorded in the source post.
A willow archer draws her bow beside a path in Skipton Castle Woods. The flowing skirt in this archive photo belongs to Anna Cross’s original design. The figure was later taken away, strengthened and rewoven by another artist. A walking diary published in June 2026 shows her back among the trees, with a different weave and bow.
4 things to know
- A commission about the woods themselvesCommissioned by the Woodland Trust in 2018, the archer and The Stalking Horse recall the castle’s hunting grounds. Sylvan Skills
- Hunter and Huntress both have a sourceThe artist’s commission page calls the work The Spirit of the Medieval Hunter. In her Folksy interview, Anna calls it Spirit of the Medieval Huntress. The two records use different titles for the same archer. Anna & the Willow · Folksy interview
- The rods are only the visible layerAnna describes starting large sculptures with drawings at full size on MDF, then a steel armature. Willow may need up to two weeks of soaking before weaving begins. That is her general method, not a measured construction time for this work. Folksy interview
- The repair changed the structureRuth Thompson reports failing willow between widely spaced supports. Her team reinforced the frame, added a curved inner weave and reshaped both body and bow. Sylvan Skills
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Skipton Castle Woods, behind Skipton Castle in North Yorkshire. The archer is photographed beside the woodland path. Phil Champion / Geograph.
- 🚶
- The main route into the woods is the Old Sawmill entrance, reached along the elevated towpath beside High Corn Mill, just off the High Street. Woodland Trust.
- ♿
- The Woodland Trust reports no step-free entrance; some paths have slopes and steps. Access information.
- 🧭
- The map pin uses the 2018 Geograph record, which specifies 100-metre precision; it is a locating aid, not a surveyed artwork coordinate. Phil Champion / Geograph.
Sightings
- 201814 Oct
Photographed by Phil Champion
- 201921 May
Photographed by Tim Ball
- 20215 Jul
Artist interview published
- 202411 Jun
Photo and wear report published
- 202416 Sep
Redesign account published
- 202623 Jun
New woodland photo published
The 2018 and 2019 stamps use the photographers’ stated camera dates. The 2024 and 2026 blog-photo stamps use publication dates; the precise camera dates are not supplied. Amber stamps mark written records. Sylvan Skills dates its redesign article on the blog index, rather than on the article itself.
On the record
Anna and the Willow
“It sat perfectly in the woodland”
Anna Cross, discussing this sculpture in an interview with maker Beata from oohaah jewellery.
Redesign of Sculptures at Skipton Castle Woods
“they became much heavier”
Ruth Thompson describes the reinforced frames and the contractors needed for reinstallation. Publication date: Sylvan Skills blog index.
Skipton Castle and Embsay Reservoir
“Aiming at the wildlife”
The author’s caption beneath her own woodland photograph of the archer. The text describes a June walk; it does not give the camera date.
The facts
- Artist
- Anna Cross, working as Anna & the Willow. Anna & the Willow · Folksy interview Checked
- Title
- The Spirit of the Medieval Hunter and Spirit of the Medieval Huntress appear respectively in the artist’s portfolio and interview. Neither explains the difference. Anna & the Willow · Folksy interview Conflicting
- Original date
- 2018; photographed in place on 14 October that year. Sylvan Skills · Phil Champion / Geograph Checked
- Original frame
- Made by blacksmith Adam Crane, according to the restorer. Sylvan Skills Reported
- Material
- Woven willow around a metal armature. Folksy interview · Sylvan Skills Checked
- Original height
- Nine feet, as stated by Anna in her interview; no separate measurement for the rebuilt figure was found. Folksy interview Reported
- Redesign
- Ruth Thompson / Sylvan Skills, completed by the account published 16 September 2024; exact reinstallation day not given. Sylvan Skills · Sylvan Skills blog index Reported
- Place
- Skipton Castle Woods, Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. Anna & the Willow · Phil Champion / Geograph Checked
- Photo date
- The hero photograph’s camera date and photographer are not recorded in our source post. Unconfirmed
- Latest sighting
- A photograph published in Walking Away’s 23 June 2026 account shows the archer in the woods. This is the newest dated photographic publication located for this file, not a check of today’s condition. Walking Away Checked
Related
- Our illustrated account of the original construction: The Forest Grew a Huntress.
- Another outdoor work remade after its first installation: Umi by Daniel Popper.
- The artist’s other commissions: Anna & the Willow.
All sources (9)
Artists and site
- Anna & the Willow. Artist’s own portfolio; identifies the archer, title and commission site. Undated.
- Folksy interview. 5 July 2021. First-person interview; artist’s name, process, height and recollection of the installation. The artist’s evidence, not a second independent artist statement.
- Sylvan Skills. The rebuilding artist’s account.
- Sylvan Skills blog index. Dates the redesign account to 16 September 2024. Same publisher as the preceding source.
- Woodland Trust. Land manager’s current visitor information: entrances, access and woodland history. Undated; not used as dated proof that the sculpture survives.
Independent photographic records
- Phil Champion / Geograph. Phil Champion’s photograph, camera date 14 October 2018; maker and commission caption; approximate mapped location.
- Tim Ball / Flickr. Tim Ball’s photograph, camera date 21 May 2019, uploaded 30 May; artist and place named.
- Sunshine and Celandines. 11 June 2024. First-person walk with a Huntress photograph; the writer describes wear on the sculptures. Publication date, not exact camera date.
- Walking Away. 23 June 2026. First-person walk and photograph of the archer after the documented redesign; exact camera date unstated.
Artwork File · Last checked 13 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files