The King Edward VII Memorial is a sculpture in memory of 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 ...

, relocated from Highgate Park to

Centenary Square Centenary Square is a public square on the north side of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, named in 1989 to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status. The area was an industrial area of small workshops and canal wharves ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1910, the

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts of Warwickshire, Worcestershire a ...

launched an appeal to erect a statue to

in order to commemorate his reign. Over £5,000 were quickly raised, and an area within

Birmingham Children's Hospital Birmingham Children's Hospital is a specialist children's hospital located in Birmingham, England. The hospital provides a range of specialist services and operates the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the city. The servi ...

was allocated for its location (then located on Ladywood Road near Five Ways).

Albert Toft Albert Toft (3 June 1862 – 18 December 1949) was a British sculptor. Toft's career was dominated by public commemorative commissions in bronze, mostly single statues of military or royal figures. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in ...

was commissioned to craft the statue, but the project immediately ran into problems. The statue was to be over six feet tall, making it difficult to find a large enough piece of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

for its construction. This problem was overcome and the project was well underway through 1912.''Public Sculpture of Birmingham: Including Sutton Coldfield'', George Thomas Noszlopy, 1998, Liverpool University Press () The statue was unveiled in Victoria Square on

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sai ...

, 23 April 1913 by

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and highe ...

. It stood next to a statue of

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 ...

. However, soon afterwards these statues were criticized as being of "ill matched designs". The statue of Edward VII was moved to Highgate Park when Victoria Square was remodeled in 1951. The statue was the subject of theft in the 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

's lance and then the three bronze groups in 1985 and 1986, none of which have been recovered. Following successful lobbying by the

Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK amenity society and membership organisation that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. It is a registered ...

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

agreed to restore the statue and re-site it back in the city center. On 12 June 2007, the Society launched an appeal fund to contribute towards the program of works which raised almost £12,000, more than 10% of the final cost of restoration. Work by Cliveden Conservation in Bath began in 2009. A new scepter and orb capital and the three bronzes (representing, respectively, Peace, Education and Progress, and St George slaying the dragon beneath a stylized crown) were re-made, and the monument reassembled on its original plinth. King Edward VII statue was finally placed in its new location outside Baskerville House in Centenary Square in 2013, near other Toft sculptures in the

Hall of Memory Hall of Memory is a name used for some memorials, including: * The Hall of Memory, Birmingham, a war memorial in Birmingham, United Kingdom, honoring residents killed in World War I. * The octagonal chapel at the heart of the Australian War Memori ...

References

External links

Victorian Society: Statue appeal
*
Birmingham City Council press release
with video of statue's arrival and erection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edward Vii, Statue Sculptures in Birmingham, West Midlands Outdoor sculptures in England Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham Edward VII Monuments and memorials in Birmingham, West Midlands Royal monuments in the United Kingdom 1913 sculptures Sculptures by Albert Toft Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom Centenary Square, Birmingham Cultural depictions of Edward VII Edward VII, Birmingham