Statue of Queen Victoria
| 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: | Grand Avenue |
| Town: | Hove |
| Parish: | Hove |
| Council: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN3 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Junction with Kingsway. |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 131 |
| Grid reference: | L7 |
| 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. | |
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Makers
| Name : | Thomas Brock RA |
| Role: | Sculptor |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Public subscription |
| Construction period: | 1897-1901 |
| Installation date: | 1901 |
| Unveiling date: | 09/02/1901 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Listing date: | 02/11/1992 |
| Description: | A life-size bronze statue on grey Aberdeen granite pedestal and base with a low surround with 4 small granite bollards. The standing statue of Queen Victoria is wearing royal regalia with crown and veil, and facing south. She holds a sceptre in her right hand and an orb in her left. The orb is surmounted by the winged figure of Victory. Around the angle of the bronze plinth are festoons of laurel and in front, a cartouche bearing the letters: V.R.I. The dado of the granite plinth is embellished with four low relief bronze panels with allegorical figures representing Commerce, Education, Science and Art,and Empire. South facing panel (Empire): in the centre sits a female figure holding a pair of scales in her right hand, symbolic of Justice. In her left hand she holds an orb. On her right stand figures representing Canada and Australia; on her left, figures representing India and Africa. North facing panel (Science and Art): a central seated female figure embracing a child who is sitting on an anvil with an electrical machine in his hands. Behind him stands a youth holding a piece of machinery. On her left is a figure of a boy with a palette and brush. At his feet are a mallet, chisel and compasses. East facing panel (Education): a mother and child. She is seated and has a book upon her knees, from which she is teaching the child to read. Standing behind them are three scholars of different ages, engaged in study. West facing panel (Commerce): in the foreground kneels an Eastern trader, with his wares spread out in front of him. he is offering them for sale to two merchants, who stand looking down at the goods. Behind is a figure with a vase in his hands; the sea is visible in the background and a galley with sails set. |
| Inscription: | ERECTED BY . THE . INHABITANTS . OF . HOVE TO . COMMEMORATE . THE . SIXTIETH . ANNIVERSARY OF . THE . ACCESSION . OF QUEEN . VICTORIA JUNE . 20 . A.D . 1897 Inscription on the lower section of the pedestal, north face: BORN 24 MAY 1819 DIED 22 JAN 1901. Starting from the south face and circling the top part of the plinth anticlockwise above the bronze reliefs: VICTORIA . DEI . GRA BRITANNIAR . REGINA FIDEI . DEFENSOR IND . IMPERATRIX Below the east face bronze relief: EDUCATION Below the west face bronze relief: COMMERCE Below the north face bronze relief: SCIENCE AND ART Below the south face bronze relief, facing the sea: EMPIRE |
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Classification
| Categories: | Commemorative, Sculptural, Free Standing |
| 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: | Stepped (2) base |
| Material: | Grey granite (unpolished) |
| Part 2: | Base of plinth |
| Material: | Grey marble |
| Part 3: | Plinth |
| Material: | Grey marble |
| Part 4: | Reliefs |
| Material: | Bronze |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Surface |
| Condition 1: | Metallic staining |
| More details: | Metal staining underneath the bronze reliefs on all sides. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 19/04/2007 |
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History
| History: | Although commissioned to commemmorate the Queen's Jubilee in 1897, the statue was not completed until the year of her death.
‘Hove’s Memorial to Queen Victoria’ ‘Prepared originally as a memorial of the happy and glorious Jubilee of 1897, the fine statue of Queen Victoria, which has stood veiled for several weeks at the foot of Grand Avenue, Hove, will today be unveiled at a time of melancholy appropriateness. Just a week ago, during the overwhelming manifestations of public grief that attended the Queen’s funeral on the great Day of Mourning, her statue, though then entirely hidden, was strewn round with affectionate tributes of wreaths. The unveiling of the statue today will be followed by the placing upon it of a wreath subscribed for publicly by the women of Hove. In such a time of common sorrow, there can, of course, be no thought of speeches at the unveiling.’ The monument was unveiled by the Mayoress, Mrs. Colman. ‘The sixtieth anniversary of the accession of our late Queen will ever be remembered as an epoch in her Reign remarkable for the demonstrations of loyalty and affectionate regard for Her Majesty, and in no part of Her Majesty’s Empire was this spirit more conspicuous than in Hove, where all classes were unanimous in their desire to create some important and permanent work in honour of their Sovereign. This desire assumed a definite form at a public meeting convened by the then Chairman of the Hove Council on the 9th of April, 1897, when a resolution was unanimously passed, having for its chief object the erection of a statue to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession. A large committee was thereupon appointed to carry out the proposal, and they commissioned Mr. Thomas Brock, R.A., to design a memorial statue. In due course the design was submitted, with the important addition of bas-reliefs, all of which are now carried out.’. (Brighton Herald. Saturday 9 February 1901.) |
| Hard archive file: | Yes |
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References
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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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