Statues - Hither & Thither

Site Search:

Halifax
(Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale)
West Yorkshire
Yorkshire & Humberside

Skircoat Road / Heath Road
(Albert Park)

Prince Albert

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Schloss Rosenau, Coburg, 1819 - Windsor Castle 1861
the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
(Wikipedia)

Thomas Thornycroft
Elkington & Co.
1864

Description

Equestrian statue of Prince Albert on his horse Nimrod. Unveiled by Sir Francis Crossley on 17 September 1864.

It is almost identical with the equestrian statue in Liverpool of 1866.

Just as with several other equestrian statues in England also of this statue the myth is told that the sculptor Thomas Thornycroft had got the horse's legs wrong and that he'd committed suicide on realizing his mistake.
Thornicroft died however 21 years later in 1885, and the unusual pose portrays Prince Albert and his horse Nimrod 'ambling', a type of trot favoured by the pair.

Inscription(s)

ALBERT
prince consort

born august 26, 1819
died december 13, 1861

Sculptor

Thomas Thornycroft (Great Tidnock, near Gawsworth, Cheshire, 1815 - Brenchley, Kent 1885), British sculptor, father of Hamo Thornycroft (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Vic Allen, Monumental Oversights: Public sculpture in Yorkshire (Halifax 2019).
Kees van Tilburg, From Marcus Aurelius to Kim Jong-il: The story of equestrian statues throughout the ages (Amstelveen, 2017). – see also the Equestrian statue website (erroneously listed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada).
Geograph, Database.

Locatie (N 53°42'52" - W 1°51'38") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: gbyh088; Photograph: 27 July 2019
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

Your banner here? Click for information.