The Peel Memorial is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

statue by

Edward Hodges Baily Edward Hodges Baily (10 March 1788 – 22 May 1867; sometimes misspelled ''Bailey'') was a prolific English sculptor responsible for numerous public monuments, portrait busts, statues and exhibition pieces as well as works in silver. He carved ...

, a nineteenth-century British artist best known for his sculpture of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

. It is located in the centre of Bury, Greater Manchester. The statue commemorates the life of

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, twice

UK Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

and founder of the British Conservative Party, who was born in Bury. The statue is of bronze, and stands 3.5m high.Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester by Terry Wyke & Harry Cocks, 2004, p250-253 Peel is depicted in contemporary dress, "addressing the House of Commons on the memorable subject of Free Trade" The statue is mounted on a

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 under ...

pedestal 3.66m high. The front of the pedestal bears the Peel family coat of arms and the word "Peel" in bronze capital letters. On the left and right sides are bronze bas-reliefs representing Commerce and Navigation. On the back of the pedestal is a circular bronze panel containing a quotation from one of Peel's speeches. The statue was originally surrounded by an iron railing with gas lights at each corner,Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 11 September 1852, p9 & 10 although this was later removed.

Inscription

The inscription on the back of the pedestal contains the words "IT MAY BE, / I SHALL LEAVE A NAME / SOMETIMES REMEMBERED / WITH EXPRESSIONS OF GOOD WILL / IN THE ABODE OF THOSE WHOSE LOT / IT IS TO LABOR, AND TO EARN THEIR / DAILY BREAD BY THE SWEAT OF / THEIR BROW - WHEN THEY SHALL / RECRUIT THEIR EXHAUSTED STRENGTH / WITH ABUNDANT AND UNTAXED FOOD / THE SWEETER, BECAUSE IT IS / NO LONGER LEAVENED BY A / SENSE OF INJUSTICE" This is a quotation from Peel's speech to the House of Commons upon resigning as Prime Minister on 29 June 1846.

History

On Wednesday 10 July 1850, eight days after Peel's sudden and unexpected death, a public meeting in the court house at Bury Town Hall resolved that "a monument be erected in some central part of the town as a perpetual memorial of our eminent townsman." A Testimonial Committee was appointed to erect the memorial, and subscriptions were invited to raise funds for it. Eventually a sum of £2,700 was collected, of which £2,500 was to be spent on the memorial, with the remainder covering expenses. Nearly 2,000 individuals contributed, with subscriptions varying from £200 given by Mr Thomas Norris of Preston, to 1d donated by Miss Rachel Knowles. The committee decided that the memorial should take the form of a bronze statue on a granite base. Rather than hold an open competition, it was decided to invite submissions from notable sculptors. Twenty one artists were asked to submit ideas, including Baily,

Carlo Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

John Henry Foley John Henry Foley (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. he is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in Lond ...

and William Calder Marshall. In February 1851 an exhibition was held at the town hall to allow the public to inspect the submissions. Many statuettes, busts and architectural designs were displayed. 14,286 people viewed the exhibits over a period of several days. The venue forbade admission to "Persons in Clogs", however so enthusiastic were the working people of Bury to see the exhibition that many "ran up the steps in their stocking-feet". Following a committee meeting on 14 February 1851, it was decided to offer the commission to Baily. The statue was cast at Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam's Statue Foundry and Bronze Works in Pimlico, London. The foundry employed a new technique which allowed the statue to be cast as a single piece of bronze,. It was described as "a cast of surpassing beauty - almost perfect from the mould itself". The finished statue was inaugurated on Wednesday 8 September 1852. The ceremony was attended by Peel's brothers John (the

Dean of Worcester The Dean of Worcester is the head of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England. The current dean is Peter Atkinson, who lives at The Deanery, College Green, Worcester. Crockford's on-line accessed by subscription Tuesday 11 June ...

) and Lawrence, his son

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(at that time MP for Bury), many local dignitaries, and a crowd of 10–15,000 local people. The statue was designated a Grade II listed building on 29 January 1985. Baily's

maquette A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

for the sculpture is preserved at Bury Art Museum. The buttons on the sculpted garments are accidentally reversed and are on "the girl's side." For a while there were public toilets below the memorial and his hand gestured to the men's entrance.

References

{{coord, 53, 35, 37.3, N, 02, 17, 52.0, W, type:landmark, display=title 1851 sculptures Grade II listed buildings in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Monuments and memorials in Greater Manchester Robert Peel