STRANGE links between India, Clee Hill, near Tenbury Wells and the mediaeval map, the Mappa Mundi, will be explored in a new exhibition at Hereford Cathedral this month.

Drawings, paintings and small sculptures by the Shropshire-based artist, Stephen Cox, will be on show there from tomorrow to Tuesday, June 22.

Mr Cox, described as "a major figure in recent British sculpture" has travelled as far as India to work on a particular kind of basalt.

Unique

On his return to Shropshire, he realised the Clee Hill, behind his house, was made up of a very similar kind of stone, a rock unique to the UK.

Mr Cox said: "It greatly resembles the basalt I used when working in India, for both colour and hardness."

The sculptor was even more surprised to discover that Clee Hill is shown on the Mappa Mundi, even though major British mountains are missing.

Mr Cox said it was "extraordinary" that the image of the hill should be there, and he was inspired into new works of art by these coincidences and connections.