The statue of Winston Churchill in

Woodford, London Woodford is a town in East London, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located north-east of Charing Cross. Woodford historically formed an ancient parish in the county of Essex. It contained a string of agrarian villages and was part ...

, is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the British statesman, created by

David McFall David Bernard McFall (12 December 1919 – 18 September 1988) was a Scottish sculptor. Born in Glasgow, McFall studied at the Junior School of Arts and Crafts in Birmingham from 1931 to 1934, and at the Birmingham School of Art from 1934 to 1 ...

in 1958–9. The statue commemorates Churchill's role as the

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

for the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

. Churchill was elected to the

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

seat in 1924 and held it until 1945 when the new constituency of Woodford was created. Churchill then held this seat until his retirement in 1964. The statue is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

structure.

History

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's parliamentary career began at age 25, when he won the northern seat of

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate in the 1900 general election. It ended 64 years later in October 1964 at age 90, when he decided, at the instigation of family and friends, not to contest the 1964 general election, and ceased to be MP for

. His parliamentary career was unconventional: elected a Tory in 1900, in May 1904 he

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to become a senior member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. By 1924, he had left the Liberals, and in October he stood as an independent

Constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

, winning the seat of

, on the Essex/London border. Subsequently, re-joining the Tory Party, he held this seat until its abolition under parliamentary reorganisation in 1945, and then won the successor seat of

, which he held until his final retirement in 1964. In 1958, the Sir Winston Churchhill Commemoration Fund commissioned

(1919–1988) to sculpt a statue of Churchill to be placed in the Woodford constituency. McFall had previously trained under

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

and then collaborated with

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

. McFall worked initially from photographs, before Churchill allowed a number of personal sittings at

Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...

, his country home in Kent. The sittings, after which McFall produced six busts of Churchill in addition to the Woodford statue, were the last Churchill ever permitted. The statue was unveiled by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...

, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, , on 30 October 1959. Churchill attended the ceremony and made a short speech focused on the gradual dissolution of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and on Britain's own future place in the world. The statue was one of only two of Churchill completed and unveiled in his lifetime. In the 21st century the statue has been the subject of occasional vandalism. In 2009 it was chosen as the symbol of the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

for the 2012 London Olympics.

Reception

Initial reactions to photographs of the work in progress were unfavourable, including those of members of Churchill's own family.

Clementine Churchill Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter ...

, a fierce defender of her husband's reputation and public image, wrote to McFall suggesting that the face was "a caricature of Winston" and requesting changes. McFall made alterations, and Lady Churchilll adjusted her opinion (see box). The reaction at the unveiling, and subsequently, was more positive;

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its coll ...

reported in its contemporary account that "the essence of Sir Winston is caught in the brilliant sculpture by David McFall". Churchill's own comment on the statue at the unveiling ceremony was, "very nice".

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

describes the statue as a "highly regarded, purposeful, yet sympathetic sculptural representation of Britain's iconic war-time Prime Minister in his later years".

Description

The statue is executed in

and is high. It stands on a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

of Cornish

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. Churchill is depicted in a three-piece suit, walking in the gardens at Chartwell. An inscription on the front of the plinth reads "WINSTON S. CHURCHILL", and another on the reverse reads "McFALL 1959". The sculpture is a

Grade II listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Footnotes

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

People in the News 1959
– Pathé News coverage of the unveiling of the statue in October 1959 {{Portal bar, Politics, United Kingdom, Conservatism, London, Visual arts, World War II 1959 sculptures Bronze sculptures in London Cultural infrastructure completed in 1959

Churchill, Winston Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Grade II listed monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in London Outdoor sculptures in London

London, Woodford Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom 1959 in London