Victoria Monument, Liverpool
TheQueen Victoria Monumentis a largeneo-Baroque[1]orBeaux-Arts[2]monument built over the former site ofLiverpool Castle[1]atDerby SquareinLiverpool.
A large ensemble featuring 26 bronze figures byC. J. Allen(some inNew Sculpturestyle),[3]it was designed by F. M. Simpson of theLiverpool School of Architecture,in collaboration[4]with the local architectural firm[5]of Willink and Thicknesse[1]and built ofPortland stone.The foundation stone was laid on 11 October 1902 by Field MarshalLord Roberts,Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.[6]The monument was unveiled on 27 September 1906. It is a Grade IIListedstructure,[1]a preservation category for structures of special public interest.
Sharples and Pollard, in theLiverpoolvolume of thePevsner Architectural Guides,describe the work as Allen's greatest, and as one of the most ambitious monuments toQueen Victoria.[7]
There are four groups of figures around the pedestal, representing agriculture, commerce, industry and education.[7]Among the figures representing education is a statue modelled onSir Oliver Lodge.[3]A large (4.42 metres (14.5 ft)) statue ofQueen Victoriais at the centre, centred in four groups of columns which support abaldacchino-like[7]open dome (which Terry Cavanagh called the monument's "least successful feature" ).[8]On top of the column groups are four allegorical figures representing justice, wisdom, charity, and peace.[7]Atop the dome itself is a large figure representing fame.[7]
In 2002, as part of theLiverpool Biennialfestival, Japanese artistTatsurou Bashi(b. 1960) created a hotel room around the statue of the Queen entitledVilla Victoria,in which paying guests could spend a night.[9]
See also
[edit]List of public art in Liverpool
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Fame atop the dome -
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Education statue
References
[edit]- ^abcd"Monument to Queen Victoria".Liverpool World Heritage.City of Liverpool. Archived fromthe originalon February 29, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 4,2013.
- ^Crouch, Christopher (2002).Design Culture in Liverpool, 1880–1914: The Origins of the Liverpool School of Architecture.Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 131.ISBN9780853238942.Retrieved4 February2013.
- ^abJacqueline Banerjee and George P. Landow."Queen Victoria Monument".The Victorian Web.Retrieved5 February2013.
- ^Richmond, Peter (2001).Marketing Modernisms: The Architecture and Influence of Charles Reilly.Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p.25.ISBN9780853237662.Retrieved4 February2013.
- ^"Basic Biographical Details – Willink & Thicknesse".Dictionary of Scottish Architects.Retrieved5 February2013.
- ^"Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener in Liverpool".The Times.No. 36897. London. 13 October 1902. p. 8.
- ^abcdeSharples, Joseph; Pollard, Richard (2004).Liverpool.New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 149.ISBN978-0300102581.Retrieved4 February2013.
- ^Cavanagh, Terry (1996).Public Sculpture of Liverpool.Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 43.ISBN978-0853237112.
- ^Villa VictoriaLiverpool Biennial website
External links
[edit]- Queen Victoria Monument, Derby Square, Liverpoolby Bob Speel
- Old photos of the monumentat Chester Virtual Stroll
