The Prince Albert Memorial is a memorial in

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

in the form of a stone

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, the consort 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, who died in 1861. The memorial was erected in 1862, and is notable for having been the earliest civic memorial to the Prince. It was dismantled in 1971, and only rebuilt 50 years later, in 2021.

1862 memorial

In January 1862, just four weeks after Prince Albert's death, Swanage builder George Burt wrote to the Rector of Swanage, the Revd Duncan Travers, to propose the erection of an obelisk of native stone. Burt's design was modelled on the obelisk in

Ludgate Circus Ludgate Circus is a road junction in the City of London where Farringdon Street/New Bridge Street (the A201) crosses Fleet Street/Ludgate Hill. (Ludgate Hill is a gentle rise to St Paul's Cathedral.) Fleet Street was the only direct road betw ...

(now in

Salisbury Square Salisbury Square is a square in London EC4. History The square is named after Salisbury Court, by and on part of the land, today the name of the narrow street which leads the square from the north. Salisbury Court was the medieval London hous ...

, off

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

), commemorating the politician

Robert Waithman Robert Waithman (1764 – 6 February 1833) was a master draper who in later life was a British politician; an economic progressive Whig from an industrial background and a political reformist. He became an alderman of the Corporation of London ...

. Built of

Purbeck stone Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of limestone beds found in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Group, found on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck ...

, the memorial was the first civic memorial to be erected to Prince Albert, in 1862. The memorial by

Thomas Worthington Thomas or Tom Worthington may refer to: *Thomas Worthington (Douai) (1549–1627), English Catholic priest and third President of Douai College *Thomas Worthington (Dominican) (1671–1754), English Dominican friar and writer *Thomas Worthington (g ...

Albert Square, Manchester Albert Square is a public Town square, square in the centre of Manchester, England. It is dominated by its largest building, the Grade I listed Manchester Town Hall, a Gothic revival architecture, Victorian Gothic building by Alfred Waterhouse. ...

, was the first major memorial and the first to depict an effigy of the Prince, but was not erected until three years after the one in Swanage, in 1865. The memorial was located on Court Hill, near to the current site of the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

Deterioration, and removal

The top two courses were damaged by the Great Blizzard in 1881, only being restored after Burt reminded the local authority that it had accepted responsibility for its maintenance. It was damaged by a heavy storm in 1901, but was still intact in 1925. By 1931 the top 13 courses had been removed, probably by local builder Frank Smith on the instructions of the owner of the adjacent property at 158 High Street, who believed it had become unsafe but had been unable to get the council to act. The stone was taken to Smith's yard on Northbrook Road and then, 15 years later, was sold to George Hancock & Co. Hancock was acquired by Lander's Quarries and the stone was taken to its yard at

Langton Matravers Langton Matravers () is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is situated about west of Swanage town centre and south-east of Corfe Castle. In the 2011 Census the civil parish ha ...

. Local historian

David Lewer David James Lewer (Swanage, Dorset, 22 January 1919 – 16 April 2005) was an English author, architect, historian and choral musician. Born in 1919 to parents James William Lewer and Emily (née Brown), David was the younger of two siblings. His ...

attempted to have the memorial restored for the centenary of Prince Albert's death in 1961, but without success. The developer of 160 High Street obtained planning permission for the construction of housing and, as such, was to agree the relocation of the stump of the memorial. Despite this, the memorial was removed and its remains stored. There were abortive attempts to re-establish the memorial for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, when Prince Albert Gardens was opened in 1996 and for the

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

in 2000.

2021 rebuilding

Planning permission for the re-erection of the memorial was obtained in 2020. At the time, the surviving remnants of the memorial were stored at St Aldhelm's quarry in

Worth Matravers Worth Matravers () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The village is situated on the cliffs west of Swanage. It comprises limestone cottages and farm houses and is built around a pond, which is a regular feature on p ...

. The work was commissioned by Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust and Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre, and paid for by a private benefactor, Mike Sloggett. The work was undertaken by Dorset Design Build. The new location is in Prince Albert Gardens, close to

Peveril Point Peveril Point is a headland on the east-facing coast of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England, and is part of the town of Swanage. It forms the southern end of Swanage Bay. It is located at OS Grid Ref: SZ 041 787. The rocks that make up Pe ...

where Prince Albert is said to have disembarked from the royal yacht ( HMY ''Victoria and Albert'') on his visit to the town in 1856. Prince Albert Gardens was built on the site of a former miniature golf course: the memorial is located on the site of the 4th hole. The memorial was opened in 2021.

References

{{coord missing, Dorset Buildings and structures completed in 1862 Monuments and memorials in Dorset Monuments and memorials to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Royal monuments in the United Kingdom Victorian era Tourist attractions in Dorset 1862 establishments in the United Kingdom Isle of Purbeck Obelisks in England