Statue of Sir John Cordy Burrows
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Steine Gardens |
| Town: | Brighton |
| Parish: | Brighton |
| Council: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN1 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Garden |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Facing the Royal York Building on Old Steine |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 162 |
| Grid reference: | F9 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| OS Reference: | TQ310060 |
| Previous location: | The Royal Pavilion Gardens (moved 1984) |
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Makers
| Name : | Edward Bowring Stephens A.R.A. |
| Role: | Sculptor |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Memorial committee |
| Construction period: | 1878 |
| Installation date: | 1878 |
| Unveiling date: | 14/02/1878 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Listing date: | 26/08/1999 |
| Description: | Full length statue. Burrows is depicted in Mayoral robes on a stepped square plinth, the bottom step rusticated. |
| Signatures: | Base of statue, right hand side (facing east):
E.B. STEPHENS 1878 |
| Inscription: | SIR JOHN CORDY BURROWS KNT. THREE TIMES MAYOR OF BRIGHTON ERECTED BY HIS FELLOW TOWNSMEN AS A MARK OF THEIR ESTEEM 1878 |
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Classification
| Categories: | Sculptural, Free Standing, Commemorative |
| Object type1: | Statue |
| Object type2: | Sculpture |
| Subject type1: | Portrait |
| Subject subtype1: | Standing |
| Subject type2: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Full-length |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Plinth |
| Material: | Grey granite |
| Height (cm): | 240 |
| Width (cm): | 127 |
| Depth (cm): | 127 |
| Part 2: | Statue |
| Material: | White Sicilian marble |
| Height (cm): | 200 |
| Width (cm): | 65 |
| Depth (cm): | 65 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Surface |
| Condition 1: | Corrosion, Deterioration |
| More details: | Some discolouration and blackening of surface, most likely caused by pollution |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 10/11/2005 |
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History
| History: | Burrows was a surgeon and active member of the Council. He was elected Mayor of Brighton three times. He was knighted in 1873.
The cost of the memorial, raised by a memorial Committee, was over £700 and it was originally erected in front of Carlisle House near the Royal Pavilion and moved to its present position in 1984 when the Pavilion grounds were remodelled. Sir John had lived and practised in Brighton since 1837, having trained as a surgeon in Suffolk. He was elected an alderman to the first borough council in 1854, going on to serve as mayor in 1857,1858 and 1871. He was also responsible for the selecting the town’s motto, In Deo Fidemus (1). The statue commemorates Sir John's many acts of philanthropy in the town; at the unveiling ceremony, the current mayor, Alderman Mayall listed, among others, his connections with the Literary and Scientific Institution (which he co-founded in 1841); the Working Men’s Institute, the Steine Fountain (the plans for which he initiated); the Museum, Library and Picture Gallery, the Aquarium, the Children’s Hospital and the ‘great Drainage scheme (2). E.B. Stephens’s sculpture attracted favourable comment in the local press, which described it as ‘…[standing] out in its virgin whiteness in the damp and hazy atmosphere (3). The unveiling was accompanied by a specially composed ode, performed by members of the Brighton Sacred Harmonic Society who had also carried out Sir John’s wish that they should sing over his grave. The inauguration of the memorial at midday was followed by a mayoral reception in the evening held in the Dome. (1) Carder, T., The Encylopaedia of Brighton, East Sussex County Libraraies, Lewes, entry114d (2) Brighton Herald, 16th Febraury, 1878 (3) Ibid |
| Hard archive file: | Yes |
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References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | Brighton Gazette |
| Type: | Newspaper |
| Date: | 14/02/1878 |
| Source 2 : | |
| Title: | Brighton Herald |
| Type: | Newspaper |
| Date: | 16/02/1878 |
| Source 3 : | |
| Title: | 'Encyclopaedia OF Brighton' |
| Type: | Book |
| Author: | Carder, Timothy |
| Date: | 00/00/1990 |
| Publisher: | East Sussex County Libraries. Lewes. |
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Photographs
Date: 19/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 19/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Date: 19/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 19/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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