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Statue of Queen Victoria

ellbrown

ellbrown

ell brown on Flickr
The statue of Queen Victoria will be restored to it's former glory.

Found this article about the missing sceptre Queen Victoria statue in Birmingham City Centre returned to former glory after 20 years

BIRMINGHAM’S famous statue of Queen Victoria will be returned to its former glory today when her missing sceptre is returned.


The restoration of the bronze tribute, created in marble by sculptor Thomas Brock following the Queen’s death in 1901, follows detective work by the Victorian Society.


Victoria’s sceptre, cradled in her right hand, has been missing its top, known as a capital, since the early 1990s.


The missing capital was amended to incorporate the Star of India in 1908. The Victorian Society unearthed photographs of the original and, working with the city council, commissioned Eura Conservation to recreate it.


Society regional chairman Stephen Hartland said: “Many of our campaigns are large but we are also able to call on our knowledge and expertise in smaller matters.”


Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, Coun Martin Mullaney, said: “This took a bit of detective work but now the statue can be restored to its former glory.”
The statue was recast in bronze by William Boyle in 1958.
Click to expand...

Think they got the recasting year wrong - not 1958, but 1951.
 
Some of my photos of the statue from the last few years (minus the sceptre)


Statue of Queen Victoria (Birmingham Central Library and the Council House) by ell brown, on Flickr


Statue of Queen Victoria - left profile by ell brown, on Flickr


Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Square, Birmingham by ell brown, on Flickr


Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Square, Birmingham by ell brown, on Flickr

Description from Pevsner Architectural Guides: Birmingham

The square gained its name when Thomas Brock's statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled in 1901. A copy - at the insistence of the patron, W.H. Barber, a Birmingham solicitor - of Brock's statue at the Shire Hall, Worcester. Originally white marble, re-cast in bronze in 1951 by William Bloye.
Click to expand...
 
I carved the inscription on the plinth when working for Bill Bloye as a apprenitce in 1951. I also worked on the carving above the entrance to a building on Bennets Hill, John Crump NOW in Parker, Co USA
 
Saw this in the Birmingham Mail Queen Victoria's sceptre returned intact although they mispelt William Bloye's name as "William Boyle". Opps.
In the Birmingham Mail they called the article Statue's sceptre restored.

BIRMINGHAM’S famous statue of Queen Victoria has been returned to its former glory with her missing sceptre returned fully intact.
The restoration of the bronze tribute, created in marble by sculptor Thomas Brock following the Queen’s death in 1901, follows detective work by the Victorian Society.
Victoria’s sceptre, cradled in her right hand, has been missing its top, known as a capital, since the early 1990s.
The missing capital was amended to incorporate the Star of India in 1908. The statue was recast in bronze by William Boyle in 1958.


The Victorian Society unearthed photographs of the original and, working with the city council, commissioned Eura Conservation to recreate it.
Society regional chairman Stephen Hartland said: “Many of our campaigns are large but we are also able to call on our knowledge and expertise in smaller matters.”
Click to expand...

​
 
The Birmingham Mail has a photo of it with the new sceptre and one without.

Did it take 7 years then?

I'll probably want to head over to the statue when we next get a blue sky and get my own updated shots of it.
 
Shame they got the facts so spectacularly WRONG!

- Star of India should read Star of Africa
- 1958 should read 1951 (cast for the Festival of Britain)
- Boyle should read Bloye
 
I think they don't much care what they print in the papers today, as long as it had been checked that there are no libellous statements.

Phil
 
I certainly do not think the B'ham Mail employs any proof readers, I was surprised to read an article last week which reported on damage caused byhe high winds," Many of the rooves have had slates and tiles blown away"
 
Last edited:
m.humphreys said:
I certainly do not think the B'ham Mail employs any proof readres, I was surprised to read an artilcle last week which reported on damage caused by the high winds," Many of the rooves have had slates and tiles blown away"
Click to expand...

I'd have to defend that one. 'Rooves' is perfectly acceptable (though archaic) English...
 
They made the mistake twice in two different articles!

ellbrown said:
Queen Victoria statue in Birmingham City Centre returned to former glory after 20 years

BIRMINGHAM’S famous statue of Queen Victoria will be returned to its former glory today when her missing sceptre is returned.


The restoration of the bronze tribute, created in marble by sculptor Thomas Brock following the Queen’s death in 1901, follows detective work by the Victorian Society.


Victoria’s sceptre, cradled in her right hand, has been missing its top, known as a capital, since the early 1990s.


The missing capital was amended to incorporate the Star of India in 1908. The Victorian Society unearthed photographs of the original and, working with the city council, commissioned Eura Conservation to recreate it.


Society regional chairman Stephen Hartland said: “Many of our campaigns are large but we are also able to call on our knowledge and expertise in smaller matters.”


Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, Coun Martin Mullaney, said: “This took a bit of detective work but now the statue can be restored to its former glory.”
The statue was recast in bronze by William Boyle in 1958.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

ellbrown said:
Queen Victoria's sceptre returned intact

BIRMINGHAM’S famous statue of Queen Victoria has been returned to its former glory with her missing sceptre returned fully intact.
The restoration of the bronze tribute, created in marble by sculptor Thomas Brock following the Queen’s death in 1901, follows detective work by the Victorian Society.
Victoria’s sceptre, cradled in her right hand, has been missing its top, known as a capital, since the early 1990s.
The missing capital was amended to incorporate the Star of India in 1908. The statue was recast in bronze by William Boyle in 1958.


The Victorian Society unearthed photographs of the original and, working with the city council, commissioned Eura Conservation to recreate it.
Society regional chairman Stephen Hartland said: “Many of our campaigns are large but we are also able to call on our knowledge and expertise in smaller matters.”
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I think they tweeked the first one for the second one by looks of it! And it looks like they cut and pasted some of the lines.
 
If the present Queen lives as long as her Mother , Prince Charles still has quite a wait before he becomes King Charles III, Bernard
 
He could become King George VII in honour of his grandfather and great grandfather.

Edward VII had a long wait. He only became King at 59 (in 1901)! And then died at 70 some 9 years later (in 1910).

Prince Charles is in his 60s and is still waiting.
 
Well they at least got the VICTORIA right OR should it be Queen MARY! John Crump OldBrit who worked on the bloody thing in 1951!
 
This maybe of interest to oldbrit - a blue plaque was unveiled last year of William Bloye

Life of Birmingham sculptor William Bloye commemorated

It is at City College.

The life of Birmingham sculptor William Bloye was commemorated this week with the unveiling of a special Blue Plaque by the Lord Mayor of the City. The Birmingham Civic Society’s Blue Plaque was revealed at the site of the sculptor’s former studio where City College Birmingham’s Golden Hillock Campus now stands. This will mark 120 years since his birth.
Bloye was born in Birmingham in 1890 and lived for some time in Acocks Green. He was trained at the Birmingham Municipal School of Art in Margaret Street, where his training was interrupted by the first world war when he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1915 to 1917.
After his return from serving in the war Bloye began to focus on his own work whilst also teaching full time, passing on his knowledge and skills to budding artists. At least seven of his students came to work for him as assistants at his Golden Hillock Road studio.
One of his most talked about works is the statue of Matthew Boulton, William Murdoch and James Watt, three pioneers of the industrial revolution in Britain, outside the old register office in Broad Street.
Stuart Cutforth, Principal of City College Birmingham, said: “It’s a great honour for us that one of our campuses stands on the site of the studio of such an important Birmingham figurehead.
"The Plaque will take pride of place on the building and we hope it will bring joy to those that study at the campus for many years to come."
Click to expand...
 
MR Bloye as I was told to call im! Would approve, I can not remember if the sceptre was on or not, But I am very surprised that is was not, Not the sort of thing MR Bloye would have let go. Maybe one of the hooligans stole it! who knows, John Crump Old Brit
 
I think it was stolen in the early 1990s. Kind of like the Edward VII statue when it was in Highgate Park (bits were stolen). Glad that they restored them both though.

Someone would have had to climb up the statue to take it.
 
Article on the BBC Queen Victoria statue restored to former glory

After detailed detective work Birmingham's famous statue of Queen Victoria has been restored to its former glory.

Almost 20 years ago the top of the Royal Sceptre held by the Queen went missing.
The Victorian Society and Birmingham City Council got together and after lots of painstaking research, recreated the missing part.
It's now been put back in place and the statue is complete once more.

Missing piece

The statue of Queen Victoria stands in Victoria Square, in front of the Town Hall and Council House.

Cradled in the Queen's right hand is the sceptre but the top part, known as the capital, had been missing since the early 1990s.

Back in 2007, a decision to restore the statue was approved but that's when historians came up against a problem.
The missing sceptre had been re-modelled in 1908 to incorporate the Star of Africa which had been given to Edward VII, but experts wanted to make a replica of the top as it would have looked originally.

Detective work

That's when the detective work came in and the restoration was delayed because experts struggled to find drawings or photographs of that original.

The mystery was eventually solved when The Victorian Society discovered contemporary photographs which meant the original piece could be reproduced and finally placed back on the statue on Tuesday, 8 February 2011.
Peter Clarke from Eura Conservation made the pattern for the missing part and was there to see the restoration.
"It's very satisfying to see it in place," he said.

Former glory

Regional Chairman of The Victorian Society Stephen Hartland said: "Many of our campaigns are large and relate to whole buildings or groups of buildings.
"But we are also able to call on our knowledge and expertise in smaller matters too. I am delighted this has come to fruition."
Seeing the statue of Queen Victoria standing in the sunshine, restored after all the detective work, Birmingham City Council's Head of Heritage Services Chris Rice reflected: "It's a job well done."
Click to expand...
 
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