A new planning application is seeking permission to install six "sculptural fragments" with a combined worth of hundreds of thousands of pounds for public viewing at Biddulph Grange Gardens.

The recently submitted plans ask for permission to six casts of sculptural fragments at the entrance to the geological gallery at the gardens.

The gallery was created by James Bateman in the mid-19th century to display his geological collections and the gallery is still open to the public to this day, although the majority of Bateman's collection is no longer present.

If the application is approved, six casts of sculptural fragments held by the National Trust would be added to the left-hand side of the entrance door to the gallery, as well as one terracotta roundel on the right-hand side wall to the entrance door.

The artifacts were originally placed in the walls by James Bateman to convince visitors of theories that incorporated new geological finds with the Christian story of creation. Five of these were carved during Greco-Roman era, one during the Renaissance period and the roundel may originate from an archaeological excavation in Mexico.

The fragments depict the head of Goliath, the head of Herakles, the head of a veiled female, a boar hunt, a lion eating a horse, and the lower part of a face, with some of them dating back to hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

The fragments range in value from around £12,000 to up to £50,000, giving the six pieces a combined value of hundreds of thousands.

More information can be found on the district council's planning portal on its website - the council's planning officers will have the final say on the plans at a later date.