What is Sentinel (sculpture)?
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Use British English|date=April 2017}} {{italic title}} [[File:Sentinel sculpture TimTolkien 02.jpg|right|thumb|''Sentinel'', by Tim Tolkien]] '''''Sentinel''''' ({{gbmapping|SP13789065}}) is a 16m high [[sculpture]] by [[Tim Tolkien]]. It is on Spitfire Island, a [[roundabout]] at the intersection of the Chester Road and the [[A47 road|A47]] Fort Parkway at the entrance to the [[Castle Vale]] estate in [[Birmingham]].<ref>{{Cite news|title = Spitfire remembered on Anniversary|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8929000/8929457.stm|newspaper = BBC|date = 2010-08-20|access-date = 2015-12-09}}</ref> It is near Junction 5 of the [[M6 motorway]] and the [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar car]] factory. This used to be the [[Castle Bromwich]] aircraft factory. It shows three [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] peeling off up into the air in different directions. The half-scale Spitfires are made of aluminium, with curving steel supporting beams which act as [[Contrail|vapour trails]]. It captures the dynamics of the Spitfire in flight and commemorates the nearby Castle Bromwich factory where most of Britain's wartime Spitfires were built. ==History== The project began in 1997. The project has won awards. The project was part of the regeneration of the Castle Vale estate. It was funded by the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]]. Tolkien was appointed as [[artist in residence]]. He consulted local residents about an art feature. They liked the area's links to [[World War II]] aircraft. They would like a sculpture with Spitfires. The sculpture was opened on 14 November 2000. The sculptor is the great-nephew of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] who was the author of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]],'' and who grew up in Birmingham. The main commercial sponsors of the spitfire sculpture were from [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]], [[Rubery Owen Holdings]] and Cincinnati. Both Cincinnati and Rubery Owen Holdings made parts for the Spitfires. They were put together at