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Statues - Hither & Thither

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Bradford
West Yorkshire
Yorkshire & Humberside

Centennial Square
(City Hall)

The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria


(Wikipedia) 		Farmer & Brindley
1873

Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria   Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria

Description

The façade of the Town Hall is adorned with thirty-five 7 ft. (2 m) high statues of English and British monarchs. Each figure is carved in immense detail from a single block of Cliffe Wood Quarry stone, local to Bradford. From the east at Norfolk Gardens they are in chronological order, with Victoria and Elizabeth I on either side of the main entrance. Unusually, the line of monarchs includes Oliver Cromwell. Not included are Edward V and Mary II.

# Photo
click for enlargement		 Biography

Norfolk Gardens & Bridge Street


Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria
1
WILLIAM I 		William the Conqueror
William the Bastard (Guillaume le Bâtard, Guillaume le Conquérant)
Tenure 1066-1087

Falaise Castle c. 1028 - Rouen 1087
Son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva
(Wikipedia).
2
WILLIAM II 		William II
William Rufus (Guillaume le Roux)
Tenure 1087-1100

Normandy c. 1060 - The New Forest 1100
Son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
(Wikipedia).
3
HENRY I 		Henry I
Henry Beauclerc (Henri Beauclerc)
Tenure 1100-1135

Selby 1068 - Castle of Lyons-la-Forêt 1135
Son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
(Wikipedia).
4
STEPHEN 		Stephen
Stephen of Blois (étienne de Blois)
Tenure 1135-1154

Blois c. 1096 - Dover Castle 1154
Son of Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy - grandson of William the Conqueror
(Wikipedia).
5
HENRY II 		Henri II
Henry Curtmantle (Henri Court-manteau)
Tenure 1154-1189

Le Mans 1133 - Chinon 1189
Son of Geoffrey V of Anjou and Matilda - grandson of Henry I
(Wikipedia).
6
RICHARD I 		Richard I
Richard the Lionheart (Richard Cœur de Lion)
Tenure 1189-1199

Beaumont Palace 1157 - Chalus 1199
Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
(Wikipedia).
7
JOHN 		John
Lackland (Jean sans Terre)
Tenure 1199-1216

Beaumont Palace 1166 - Newark-on-Trent 1216
Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
(Wikipedia).

Centennial Square - left wing

Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria
8
HENRY III 		Henry III
Henry of Winchester
Tenure 1216-1272

Winchester Castle 1207 - Westminster Palace 1272
Son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême
(Wikipedia).
9
EDWARD I 		Edward I
Longshanks
Tenure 1272-1307

Westminster Palace 1239 - Burgh by Sands 1307
Son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence
(Wikipedia).
10
EDWARD II 		Edward II
Edward of Caernarfon
Tenure 1307-1327

Caernarfon Castle 1284 - Berkeley Castle 1327
Son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile
(Wikipedia).
11
EDWARD III 		Edward III

Tenure 1327-1377

Windsor Castle 1312 - Sheen Palace 1377
Son of Edward II and Isabella of France
(Wikipedia).
12
RICHARD II 		Richard II

Tenure 1377-1399

Bordeaux 1367 - Pontefract Castle 1400
Son of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent - grandson of Edward III
(Wikipedia).
13
HENRY IV 		Henry IV
Bolingbroke
Tenure 1399-1413

Bolingbroke Castle 1366 - Westminster Abbey 1413
Son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster - grandson and heir male of Edward III
(Wikipedia).
14
HENRY V 		Henry V

Tenure 1413-1422

Monmouth Castle 1386 - Château de Vincennes 1422
Son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun
(Wikipedia).
15
HENRY VI 		Henry VI

Tenure 1422-1461 and 1470-1471

Windsor Castle 1421 - Tower of London 1471
Son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
(Wikipedia).
16
EDWARD IV 		Edward IV

Tenure 1461-1470 and 1471-1483

Rouen 1443 - Westminster Palace 1483
Son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville - great-great-grandson and heir general of Edward III
(Wikipedia).
NB. his son, King Edward V (1270-1283), was king from 9 April to 25 June 1483 and is not portrayed.

17
RICHARD III 		Richard III

Tenure 1483-1485

Fotheringhay Castle 1452 - Bosworth Field 1485
Son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville - brother of Edward IV, uncle of Edward V
(Wikipedia).

Centennial Square - front porch

Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria
18
HENRY VII 		Henry VII

Tenure 1485-1509

Pembroke Castle 1457 - Richmond Palace 1509
Son of Edmund Tudor and Lady Margaret Beaufort - great-great-great-grandson of Edward III
(Wikipedia).
19
HENRY VIII 		Henry VIII

Tenure 1509-1547

Greenwich Palace 1491 - Whitehall Palace 1547
Son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
(Wikipedia).
20
EDWARD VI 		Edward VI

Tenure 1547-1553

Hampton Court Palace 1537 - Greenwich Palace 1553
Son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
(Wikipedia).
21
MARY 		Mary I

Tenure 1553-1558

Greenwich Palace 1516 - St. James's Palace 1558
Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
(Wikipedia).
22
ELIZABETH 		Elizabeth I

Tenure 1558-1603

Greenwich Palace 1533 - Richmond Palace 1603
Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
(Wikipedia).
35
VICTORIA 		Victoria
Alexandrina Victoria
Tenure 1837-1901

Kensington Palace 1819 - Osborne House 1901
Daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld - Granddaughter of George III (by his fourth son)
(Wikipedia).

Centennial Square - right wing

Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria
23
JAMES I 		James I

Tenure 1603-1625

Edinburgh Castle 1566 - Theobalds House 1625
Son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and Mary I, Queen of Scots - great-great-grandson and heir general of Henry VII
(Wikipedia).
24
CHARLES I 		Charles I

Tenure 1625-1649

Dunfermline Palace 1600 - Whitehall Palace 1649
Son of James I and Anne of Denmark
(Wikipedia).
25
CROMWELL 		Oliver Cromwell
Old Ironsides
Tenure 1653-1658

Huntingdon 1599 - Whitehall 1658
Son of Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward
(Wikipedia).
His son Richard Cromwell (1626-1712), Lord Protector 1658-1659, is not portrayed.

26
CHARLES II 		Charles II

Tenure 1660-1685

St. James's Palace 1630 - Whitehall Palace 1685
Son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
(Wikipedia).
27
JAMES II 		James II

Tenure 1685-1688

St. James's Palace 1633 - Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1701
Son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France
(Wikipedia).
28
WILLIAM III 		William III
William of Orange

Tenure 1689-1702

The Hague 1650 - Kensington Palace 1702
Son of of William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal - grandson of Charles I
Married Queen Mary II (St. James's Palace 1662 - Kensington Palace 1694), daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
(Wikipedia).
29
ANNE 		Anne

Queen of England 1702-1707
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland 1707-1714

St. James's Palace 1665 - Kensington Palace 1714
Daughter of James II and Anne Hyde
(Wikipedia).
30
GEORGE I 		George I
George Louis
Tenure 1714-1727

Leineschloss 1660 - Osnabrück 1727
Son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Sophia of Hanover - his mother was granddaughter of James I
(Wikipedia).
31
GEORGE II 		George II
George Augustus
Tenure 1727-1760

Herrenhausen 1683 - Kensington Palace 1760
Son of George I and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle
(Wikipedia).
32
GEORGE III 		George III
George William Frederick
Tenure 1760-1820

Norfolk House 1738 - Windsor Castle 1820
Son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha - grandson of George II
(Wikipedia).

Channing Way


Bradford / The British Monarchs from Richard the Conqueror to Queen Victoria
33
GEORGE IV 		George IV
George Augustus Frederick
Tenure 1820-1830

St James's Palace 1762 - Windsor 1830
Son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
(Wikipedia).
34
WILLIAM IV 		William IV
William Henry
Tenure 1830-1837

Buckingham Palace 1765 - Windsor Castle 1837
Son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz - brother of George IV
(Wikipedia).
35 VICTORIA Between 22 and 23.
List based on Wikipedia List of English monarchs and List of British monarchs

Annotation

Before the statues were placed in the niches, they were exhibited for the public. A report in the Leeds Times:
The Town Hall and the Statues of the Kings.
On Wednesday [21 May 1873], the statues of the Kings and the reigning Queen of England, which are to be placed in niches outside the Bradford new Town Hall, were thrown open for public inspection, at a small charge, the proceeds to be given to the charities. The statues are exhibited in a room on the ground floor of the ball. Seven figures have yet to come — James II., Henry V., Edward IV., Edward V., Queen Elizabeth, George IV., and Queen Victoria. All the other sovereigns are represented. They form an interesting gallery, and are creditable specimens of the work of Messrs. Farmer and Brindley, of London. Great attention has been paid to costume, the statues being shown in the dress of the various periods at which the sovereigns lived. The pose of each figure has been specially studied, and the contrast between Charles I. and Cromwell, and between William I. and the later Kings, is shown in a striking manner. Richard III. is not the "hump-backed tyrant," but a tall, martial figure, with a cunning cast of countenance, while Queen Mary is a lovely woman. The statues are a little over life-size. They have already been inspected by a considerable number of persons. The cost of the statues will be about £70 each.
Later they were placed in the niches:
The Royal Statues for the Town Hall.
The work of raising the statues of the monarchs to their niches in the front of the new Town Hall is progressing satisfactorily, though rather slowly. Some twenty-four are now in their places, the last that has been put in his place being Oliver Cromwell. With one exception, the order of arrangement has been chronological commencing at the Norfolk-street end of the building with William I., and proceeding in order along the front of the hall. The Tudors Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary, have the honour of occupying the niches over the front entrance. Some curiosity has been felt and expressed as to why James I. has followed Queen Mary, the "good Queen Bess" having been omitted. We understand it is the intention of the committee to place Elizabeth in a place of greater honour, on one side of the front entrance, opposite the statue of her present Majesty, which is to be on the other side. We have heard it suggested that it would not be out of place if William IV., as the monarch in whose reign the Act under which Bradford was incorporated, were to support Queen Victoria in this dignified position; but we believe it has been thought that a more evenly-balanced appearance would be secured by the two greatest of our queens being placed opposite each other.

Om 9 September 1873 the new town hall was opened.

Sculptor

Sources & Information

Tags

  • Edward IV (King of England)
  • Edward VI (King of England)
  • Elizabeth I (Queen of England)
  • Farmer & Brindley
  • George I (King of Great Britain)
  • George II (King of Great Britain)
  • George III (King of Great Britain)
  • George IV (King of Great Britain)
  • Henry I (King of England)
  • Henry II (King of England)
  • Henry III (King of England)
  • Henry IV (King of England)
  • Henry V (King of England)
  • Henry VI (King of England)
  • Henry VII (King of England)
  • Henry VIII (King of England)
  • James I (King of England)
  • James II (King of England)
  • John Lackland
  • Mary of England
  • Monarch
  • Richard I the Lionheart
  • Richard II (king of England)
  • Richard III (king of England)
  • Stephen of England
  • Victoria (Queen of Great-Britain)
  • William II (King of England)
  • William III (King of England and Stadhouder)
  • William IV (King of Great Britain)
  • William the Conqueror

    • Locatie (N 53°47'33" - W 1°45'11") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

    Item Code: gbyh003; Photograph: 31 July 2012
    Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
    If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
    © Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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