Although it looked like a giant table at first glance, 'Torment Of The Metals' was actually designed to resemble a lift shaft; the piece references the mine workings over at Coniston, on the slopes of the Old Man, as Jill Randall explains on her website:

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"The title of the work, 'Torment of the Metals', is an alchemic term, referring to a stage in the allegoric process of transforming base metals into gold, and also references the transformation of the copper from rock subject to great heat and pressure to the manufactured components of the sculpture. It also alludes to the local copper mining industry on the fells of Coniston, dominating the skyline from the forest. A touchstone to another world, an ironic reference to the copper ore rock contained in the sculpture, which defies gravity and remains intangible, the work creates magical effects with the qualities of the material, which changes over time, acknowledging the passage of time and the constant flux of the forest environment, the weather, river levels, the cycle of felling and planting trees, the ebb and flow of visitors."

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The piece stood for fifteen years or so under the shelter of the trees towards the end of the Millwood Trail, but a couple of years back the sculpture suddenly found itself out in the open thanks to felling, with a sudden and extensive view of the valley. This was the beginning of the end for it, sadly, as the exposure to the elements soon rendered it unsafe and in 2018 it was taken down. From old comes new, however, and in 2021 it was replaced by 'Home of the Rose', another copper-based sculpture.