Carlisle · GB

Cracker Packers Statue

On a busy street corner in Caldewgate, Carlisle, two bronze women lean into a chat atop an oversized biscuit—and they are having the last laugh. The Cracker Packers Statue celebrates the female workers of Carr's biscuit factory, the 'cracker packers' whose labour helped build one of the town's most famous industries. Unveiled on International Women's Day in 2018, it is a rare, warm-hearted tribute to ordinary working women rather than kings or generals. Created by award-winning sculptor Hazel Reeves, the artwork sits in the shadow of the former Carr's factory (now McVitie's, owned by pladis), a few steps from the bus stop on John Street. It is free to see at any time and makes a quick, photogenic stop on a walk around this industrial quarter of Carlisle.