The benches are reminiscent of the slate trucks that once crossed through the town centre, containing tightly packed slates at the start of a journey that could take them across the world. Each bench is made of large slabs of oak, the first split into two, then four and finally eight pieces, just as a block of slate called a ‘tew wyth’ was split into eight slates. The lines of the rails on which the trucks once ran are echoed in the bands of slate that run through the paving beneath the benches. Along the street, slate bands in the paving contain text that celebrates local sayings as well as new expressions specially created for the scheme by Dewi Prysor working with local schoolchildren.
In the bus shelters, the paving design reveals the different slate sizes, named after female members of the aristocracy, from Narrow Ladies through to Wide Countesses and eventually Princesses and Queens. It is this attention to detail that adds to the richness of the regeneration scheme, using artwork to celebrate people and place, culture and landscape.