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The Victoria Memorial is a monument to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, located at the end of The Mall in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and designed and executed by the sculptor (Sir)
Thomas Brock Sir Thomas Brock (1 March 184722 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His mos ...
. Designed in 1901, it was unveiled on 16 May 1911, though it was not completed until 1924. It was the centrepiece of an ambitious urban planning scheme, which included the creation of the Queen’s Gardens to a design by Sir
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...
, and the refacing of Buckingham Palace (which stands behind the memorial) by the same architect. Like the earlier
Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...
in Kensington Gardens, commemorating Victoria's consort, the Victoria Memorial has an elaborate scheme of iconographic sculpture. The central pylon of the memorial is of
Pentelic marble Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part w ...
, and individual statues are in
Lasa marble Laas (; it, Lasa ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about west of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 3,983 and an area of .All demographics and o ...
and gilt bronze. The memorial weighs 2,300
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
(about 2535
short tons The short ton (symbol tn) is a measurement unit equal to . It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton, although the term is ambiguous, the single word being variously used for short, long, and metric ton. The vari ...
) and is 104 ft wide. In 1970 it was
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
at Grade I.


History


Proposal and announcements

King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
suggested that a joint Parliamentary committee should be formed to develop plans for a Memorial to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
following her death. The first meeting took place on 19 February 1901 at the Foreign Office,
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
. The first secretary of the committee was
Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was a British Army officer and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to George V during mos ...
. Initially these meetings were behind closed doors, and the proceedings were not revealed to the public. However the
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
, Sir Joseph Dimsdale, publicly announced that the committee had decided that the memorial should be "monumental". left, The original sketch model created by Thomas Brock of the finalised design of the Victoria Memorial
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher Reginald Baliol Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher, (30 June 1852 – 22 January 1930) was an historian and Liberal politician in the United Kingdom, although his greatest influence over military and foreign affairs was as a courtier, member of public c ...
, the secretary of the committee, submitted the proposal to the King on 4 March 1901. A number of sites were suggested, and the King visited both
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
and the park near the Palace of Westminster. Several ideas were rumoured at this time, including an open square in The Mall near to the school
Duke of York Column The Duke of York Column is a monument in London, England, to Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second eldest son of King George III. The designer was Benjamin Dean Wyatt. It is sited where Regent Street meets The Mall, a purposefully wide end ...
, and a memorial located in
Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Marylebo ...
. On 26 March the decision was announced to locate the memorial outside Buckingham Palace and slightly shorten The Mall. It was estimated that the work would cost £250,000 and decided that there would be no grant given by the Government to the construction. Once the site was selected, a competition was conducted for the design. Five architects were chosen to develop designs. This phase lasted until the beginning of July 1901, when the committee selected its primary choice for the construction and took it to the King for approval. It was announced on 21 October 1902 that
Thomas Brock Sir Thomas Brock (1 March 184722 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His mos ...
had been chosen as the designer. The expectation was that the memorial would cost £200,000.


Funding and construction

Funding for the memorial was gathered from around 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 e ...
as well as the public. The Australian
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
granted a £25,000 contribution for the construction on 17 October 1905. The New Zealand government submitted a cheque for £15,000 towards the fund. By October 1901 some £154,000 had been gathered for the construction of the memorial. During 1902 a number of tribes from the west coast of Africa sent goods to be sold, with the proceeds going towards the fund. Alfred Lewis Jones had arranged for these items to be brought from Africa to Liverpool free of charge on his ships. Following the public and national donations towards the funds, there was more money collected than was necessary for the construction of the Victoria Memorial. Funds were therefore diverted towards the construction of
Admiralty Arch Admiralty Arch is a landmark building in London providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Admiralty Arch, commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mo ...
at the other end of The Mall, and a redevelopment to clear a path directly from that road into
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
. Sir
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...
was put in charge of this project; he built the Arch so economically that enough money was left over to re-front the entirety of Buckingham Palace, a job that was completed in 13 weeks due to the pre-fabrication of the new stonework. The initial preparatory stage was to re-route the road and modify The Mall. Brock hoped that work on constructing the memorial itself could be started at some point in 1905. The lower half of the memorial was revealed to the public on 24 May 1909. Thousands of people visited it on the first day.


Dedication and inauguration

Following a practice ceremony on 11 March, in the presence of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the dedication ceremony took place on 16 May 1911, presided over by
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
. His first cousin,
Wilhelm II of Germany , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...
, was also present. These two were the senior grandsons of Victoria, and arrived, together with their families, in royal procession. Also in attendance were a large number of Members of Parliament, and representatives of various armed forces. In his role as
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
,
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 during the Second World War, and again from ...
carried the text of the speeches. Lord Esher addressed the King and the gathered crowd, explaining the history of the memorial. The King replied to this, referring to his involvement in the development of the monument to his grandmother. He talked of the impact of Queen Victoria and of her popularity with the public. In total, the ceremony went on for thirty minutes. Following this, it was revealed to the press that the King had decided that the sculptor of the memorial, Thomas Brock, was to be knighted.


Later uses

As part of the celebrations of the
Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...
, the Victoria Memorial (along with areas in Green Park and Buckingham Palace) was used as a platform for a fireworks display which lasted fourteen minutes with a total of two and three-quarter tonnes of fireworks used. In addition, water jets were added to the fountains in the Victoria Memorial, which fired water up into the air. This display followed a concert held in the Palace forecourt. It was announced in February 2012 that the Victoria Memorial would form the centrepiece of the stage for Queen Elizabeth II's
Diamond Jubilee Concert The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth ...
on 4 June that year. Platforms designed by Mark Fisher were built around the memorial at a cost of £200,000, and were constructed in two weeks. A number of performers appeared from across the sixty years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, including
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...
, Tom Jones, Elton John, Jessie J, Madness, Dame Shirley Bassey and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Tickets were free and allocated by public ballot; and in addition to being seen live by the 10,000 fans in attendance, the event was broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and highlights were shown in the United States on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Later in 2012, the memorial marked the end of "Our Greatest Team Parade" on 10 September 2012. This parade celebrated the successes of the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
teams at the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. There were 21 floats holding a total of around 800 athletes, and it was estimated that around a million members of the public cheered them on. The area from Admiralty Arch to the Victoria Memorial down the Mall was reserved for ticket holders. After the arrival at the Victoria Memorial, there was a flypast by helicopters of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, as well as a
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
jet and a flight of the Red Arrows. During the games, the Mall and the Victoria Memorial had been used as the finishing point for the Marathon, as well as being on the triathlon route. The memorial was damaged by anti-austerity protesters during the " Million Mask March" on 5 November 2013, which took place in central London focused on Trafalgar Square and outside Buckingham Palace. During the following year's protests, the memorial was guarded by police officers.


Description

At the top of the central pylon stands a gilded bronze '' Winged Victory'', standing on a globe and with a victor's palm in one hand. Beneath her are personifications of ''Constancy'', holding a compass with its needle pointing
true north True north (also called geodetic north or geographic north) is the direction along Earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole or True North Pole. Geodetic north differs from ''magnetic'' north (the direction a compass points toward t ...
, and ''Courage'', holding a club. Beneath these, on the eastern and western sides, are two eagles with wings outspread, representing Empire. Below these, statues of an enthroned Queen Victoria (facing The Mall) and of ''Motherhood'' (facing Buckingham Palace), with ''Justice'' (facing north-west towards
Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Marylebo ...
) and ''Truth'' (facing south-east). These were created from solid blocks of marble, with ''Truth'' being sculpted from a block weighing 40 tonnes. Brock described the symbolism of the memorial, saying that it was devoted to the "qualities which made our Queen so great and so much beloved." He added that the statue of the Queen was placed to face towards the city, while flanked by ''Truth'' and ''Justice'' as he felt that "she was just and that she sought the truth always and in circumstances", while the ''Motherhood'' was to represent her "great love for her people". At the four corners of the monument are massive bronze figures with lions, representing ''Peace'' (a female figure holding an olive branch), ''Progress'' (a nude youth holding a flaming torch), ''Agriculture'' (a woman in peasant dress with a sickle and a sheaf of corn) and ''Manufacture'' (a blacksmith in modern costume with a hammer and a scroll). The self-bases of the last two groups are inscribed THE GIFT OF
NEW ZEALAND New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The whole sculptural programme has a nautical theme, much like the rest of The Mall (
Admiralty Arch Admiralty Arch is a landmark building in London providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Admiralty Arch, commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mo ...
, for example). This can be seen in the
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...
s, mermen and the
hippogriff The hippogriff, or sometimes spelled hippogryph ( el, Ἱππόγρυπας), is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. It was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his ''Orlando Furioso'', at the beginning o ...
, all of which are suggestive of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's naval power. The memorial is placed in the middle of an architectural setting of formal gardens and gates designed by the architect Sir
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in pa ...
. At nearly tall, the Victoria Memorial remains the tallest monument to a King or Queen in England. Winged Victory, Victoria Memorial, London.jpg, Gilded '' Winged Victory'' at the top of the memorial Queen Victoria statue, Victoria Memorial, London.jpg, Statue of an enthroned Queen Victoria Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace - 01.jpg, Fountain Progress (Victoria Memorial).jpg, ''Progress'', one of four bronze statues around the memorial Victoria Memorial from within Buckingham Palace.jpg, The Victoria Memorial from within Buckingham Palace


See also

*
Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...
*
Royal Archives The Royal Archives, also known as the King's Archives, is a division of The Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is operationally under the control of the Keeper of the Royal Archives, who is customarily the Private Secre ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{Portalbar, London, Monarchy, Visual arts 1911 establishments in the United Kingdom 1911 sculptures 1924 establishments in the United Kingdom 1924 sculptures Allegorical sculptures in the United Kingdom Bronze sculptures in the United Kingdom Buckingham Palace Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Buildings and structures on The Mall, London Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed monuments and memorials Sculptures by Thomas Brock Sculptures of lions Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials in London Monuments and memorials to Queen Victoria Outdoor sculptures in London Royal monuments in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster