Prince William and Kate's Norfolk neighbours Lord Cholmondeley and his wife Rose Hanbury install 100 life-size iron statues resembling naked people by Angel of the North artist Sir Antony Gormley in their grounds

The neighbours of the Prince and Princess of Wales have installed 100 life-size cast-iron statues resembling naked people on the grounds of their stately home. 

The strange figures have recently been spotted in the grounds of the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley's Houghton Hall.

The 6ft-tall figures with genitals on display have been embedded into the ground as part of Angel of the North artist Sir Antony Gormley's £22 a ticket exhibition Time Horizon.  

'We have this wonderful park and it is ideal for sculpture,' explains Lord Cholmondeley, 63, aka film-maker David Rocksavage.

Similar statues, said to resemble Sir Antony's own naked body, have been put on display on Liverpool's Crosby Beach. They had to be dug up from the sand in 2021 to have the foundations replaced after strong currents and shifting sands led to the statues tilting. 

Lord Cholmondeley, whose wife, Rose, turned 40 recently, admits to feeling 'slightly apprehensive' about the sculptures — some of which are partially buried — that make up the work.

The sculptures, each weighing 620kgs, are spread across 300 acres of land on the estate. 

They are all installed at the same datum level - some are buried and others elevated on concrete columns.

Gormley said his ambition for the show 'is that people should roam far and wide'. 

'Art has recently privileged the object rather than the experience that objects can initiate,' he said. 

'Time Horizon is not a picture, it is a field and you are in it. The work puts the experience of the subject/visitor/protagonist on an equal footing with all material presences, organic and inorganic. 

'The quality of the light, the time of the year, the state of the weather and the condition of your mind, body and soul are all implicated in the field, as is all the evidence within it of human activity already accomplished as well as the plethora of life forms that surround the hall.'

Lord Cholmondeley said: 'We are excited to have the opportunity to show this large-scale work by Antony Gormley for the first time in the UK. 

'The 100 life-size sculptures will cover a much larger area than our previous shows, allowing visitors to experience more of the historic landscape surrounding the house.' 

The 'Time Horizon' exhibition was first installed in Catanzaro, Italy, in 2006.  

Sir Antony's 'Another Place' installation on Crosby Beach attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the seaside attraction every year. 

They were put on display back in July 2005 and work began on its 'refurbishment and maintenance plan' back in autumn 2019. 

The statues stand upright on the beach and, as the tide comes in and out, the figures are submerged by the ocean and are corroded by the seawater. 

The naked figures, which face towards the River Mersey Estuary, caused considerable controversy when they were first installed but it was decided in 2007 to keep them as a permanent attraction under the ownership of Sefton Council.

Many residents previously praised Sir Antony's work as a welcome addition to the cultural attractions of the seaside town, but others were less complimentary.

As well as saying they resembled oversized sex toys, others compared the piece to a 'variety of giant dog poo' or 'giant rabbit droppings'.