TWO statues hidden from view for decades are to be unveiled to the public — but nobody knows where they have come from.

The figures have been buried under foliage outside Cowley Library and will soon be moved to the Oxfordshire Record Office, in Temple Road, where people can see them for the first time.

Last night, Carl Boardman, Oxfordshire County Council’s History Services Manager, appealed for people who may have information to come forward.

Council staff can find no documentary evidence about the statues, but said the story handed down in Cowley Library is that they were moved to the library for safekeeping at the outbreak of the Second World War.

It was thought they might have been moved from a country house and never returned.

He said: “This is an odd story — what country house would be more at risk than a library half a mile from a major industrial concern, and why transfer them to a library anyway?

“It makes one wonder if they came from the centre of Oxford and were being moved out to the periphery.

“At any rate, they’ve been stored on a narrow strip of land down the side of Cowley Library to which there is no public access, and various people at Oxfordshire County Council thought it would be nice if the public could see them.”

One of the statues is a kneeling hart, now headless, but with its hooves still visible and the body more or less intact. It is about one metre long and 60cm high.

The other is a man, roughly life-size, in a long cloak or gown. Although weathered, its basic shape can be seen.

Mr Boardman added: “Cowley Library has no public area in which they can go, so we decided to move them across the road to the grounds of the record office.

“They will be placed on the paved area near the entrance to reception, and as soon as we can find out their history we’ll set up a notice with them to interpret them.

“The only way we can find that out is if someone remembers the transfer, so we need to appeal for help. We do have one clue — in the basement of the library is a carved coat of arms, which probably came with them. Does it mean anything to anyone?”

Tony Joyce, chairman of the Oxford Civic Society, joined the appeal for information.

He said: “Clearly there is a lot of Oxford’s history enshrined in odd places, due to the way the city has evolved over the years.”

Mr Boardman is offering signed copies of his books, Oxfordshire Sinners & Villains and Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Oxfordshire, to the first person to come up with information about the origin of the statues.

Anybody with information should call the records office on 01865 398200.