King Edward VII Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountain
TheKing Edward VII Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountainis adrinking fountainonWhitechapel Roadin theWhitechapelarea located in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets.
A plaque on the fountain records that it was erected "from subscriptions raised from Jewish inhabitants of East London" in memory ofEdward VII.[1]The idea for the memorial was conceived by the writerAnnie Gertrude Landa.It was unveiled on 15 March 1912 byCharles Rothschild.[2][3]The figures are the work of the sculptorWilliam Silver Frith.[3]
The fountain is made from white stone with a tapered central square pillar. The pillar is surmounted by a bronze angel, with bronze figures of the Angel of Peace, the Angel of Liberty and the figure ofJusticeandcherubson the faces of the pillar.[4]
Each of the cherubs holds an object of significance to the Jewish community at the time of the memorial's unveiling. One cherub holds a ship; many members of the local Jewish community were recent immigrants. A cherub holding a needle and thread signifies the clothing industry which employed the majority of the East End Jewish community until the 1970s. A book is held by another cherub signifying the importance of education to the community both from the local secular Jewish schools and the schools of Talmudic study. A car held by a cherub shows the increasing pace of modernity and the shift away from the horse and cart in modern London.[4] The remaining face bears a relief portrait of the King wearing theOrder of the Garter.[4]
The fountain waslisted at Grade IIon theNational Heritage List for Englandin September 1973.[1]
Michael McNay, writing in theHidden Treasures of London,describes the memorial fountain as sitting "in the ethnic Asian community today as naturally as the exotic and overweening architecture of Mumbai, built on the high tide of the British Raj, suits the gateway of India".[3]
In August 2015 the memorial was covered with pieces of red meat and chicken in what theEvening Standarddescribed as an "apparent anti-Semitic attack". The incident was reported to police who launched an investigation; workers fromTower Hamlets Councilwere sent to clean the memorial.[5]
References
[edit]- ^abHistoric England(27 September 1973),"King Edward VII Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountain opposite main entrance to London Hospital (1065821)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved29 May2019
- ^"The Waste: a history of Whitechapel Road's market",Survey of London,retrieved29 May2019
- ^abcMcNay, Michael(2015),Hidden Treasures of London,Penguin Random House,ISBN978-1-84794-617-1
- ^abcBerk, Louis; Kolsky, Rachel (15 November 2017).Secret Whitechapel.Amberley Publishing. p. 83.ISBN978-1-4456-6199-5.
- ^Blundy, Rachel (20 August 2015),"Vandals desecrate east London Jewish memorial with raw meat",Evening Standard,retrieved29 May2019
External links
[edit]- Media related toEdward VII Memorial, Whitechapel, Londonat Wikimedia Commons
- Pathé newsreel of the unveiling of the King Edward VII Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountain
- 1911 establishments in England
- 1911 in London
- 1911 sculptures
- Bronze sculptures in London
- Buildings and structures in Whitechapel
- Drinking fountains in the United Kingdom
- Edward VII
- Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Jews and Judaism in London
- Monuments and memorials in London
- Royal monuments in the United Kingdom
- Sculptures of angels
- Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom