‘It was found under the bed’: Rare sketches discovered of the original Birmingham bull statue
Newly discovered original sketches of the Bullring bull are up for auction after being found in the deceased artist's home in Cambridgeshire.
“A fantastic find, it was found under the bed, which is amazing really.” For auctioneer, Stephen Drake, it was his lucky day when he first came across an unusual find. That something special was the original sketches of Birmingham’s most iconic sculpture.
The Bullring bull, which is a bronze 2.2-metre-high, 6-ton sculpture designed by Laurence Broderick has become synonymous with the iconography of Birmingham - the UK’s second city.
Since 2003, the Bullring bull has been located outside the main entrance to the Bullring Shopping Centre.
The artist behind the sculpture passed away almost two years since the collection was found by Laurence Broderick’s family who died in Cambridgeshire, aged 88, in 2024.
Among the portfolio were rare images of the original bullring photo, as well as photos of Laurence Broderick crafting the images himself.
Now these, images are expected to fetch for ‘several thousand’ at auction, according to Stephen Drake from Batemans Auctioneers who obtained the rare sketches in mid-January.
“I would imagine several thousand but they are actually just part of his studio sale so I’ve got sculptures, drawings and other items as well that were taken from the house,” Stephen Drake told us.
These images are seen to be one-of-a-kind, as they are considered to be 'irreplaceable' by the sellers, as the importance being that they are considered to the first sketches that Broderick created before the iconic statue was opened.
“There was a competition to create a sculpture for the Bullring. He was one of four sculptures, and he got the commission in the end which was about £100,000 or something like that to do it. He was living in Cambridgeshire, he went out into the farmers fields and started drawing bulls. So these are the original sketches that he made for that bull,” Stephen Drake continued.
“There are some photographs as well in the portfolio showing him sculpting the machete which is the small models to be based on the real one.” he continued.
The studio sale of Laurence Broderick is set to take place at Batemans Auctioneers in Stamford, Lincolnshire at 10am on Saturday 7 March 2026.
