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 previ ...

, 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 mo ...

. 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 par ...

, and the refacing of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It h ...

(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 wi ...

, and individual statues are in Lasa marble 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) and is 104 ft wide. In 1970 it was listed 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 an ...

suggested that a joint Parliamentary committee should be formed to develop plans for a Memorial to

following her death. The first meeting took place on 19 February 1901 at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unite ...

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 ...

. 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 publi ...

, 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 The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

. Several ideas were rumoured at this time, including an open square in The Mall near to the school Duke of York Column, 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 Maryleb ...

. On 26 March the decision was announced to locate the memorial outside

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

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 ...

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 ca ...

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 comme ...

. Sir

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

, 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

Inauguration du Monument de la reine Victoria

Following a practice ceremony on 11 March, in the presence of

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as Gov ...

, 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 Que ...

. His first cousin,

Wilhelm II of Germany Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

, 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 1 ...

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 a ...

, 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, ha ...

, Tom Jones,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

, Madness, Dame

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

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. On ...

. 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 and highlights were shown in the United States on ABC. 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 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

. 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) a ...

, 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 ca ...

jet and a flight of the

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

. 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 The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

'', 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 th ...

, 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

) 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 country ...

. The whole sculptural programme has a nautical theme, much like the rest of The Mall (

, 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 asso ...

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 ...

, 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

's naval power. The memorial is placed in the middle of an architectural setting of formal gardens and gates designed by the architect Sir

. At nearly tall, the Victoria Memorial remains the tallest monument to a King or Queen in England. Winged Victory, Victoria Memorial, London.jpg, Gilded ''

'' 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

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