Items - Cast in Stone

Equestrian statue of Prince Albert, Wolverhampton

Equestrian statue of Redvers Buller, Exeter

Equestrian statue of General Sir Redvers Buller and his horse "Biffen", sculpted by Adrian Jones. The statue was commissioned by the Buller Memorial Committee (established in Exeter in October 1901 after Buller's controversial dismissal from the British Army) and was unveiled in the city in 1905. The statue stands at the junction of Hele Road and New North Road, in between Exeter College and Bury Meadow Park. The statue and its plinth make direct references to Buller's colonial career. The inclusion of Buller's horse Biffen and the line on the plinth, "HE SAVED NATAL", are references to Buller's eventual victory at the relief of Ladysmith on March 1st, 1900 during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. Other inscriptions on the plinth note the locations where Buller was involved in colonial conflicts, including India, China, Canada, Ashanti (Ghana), Sudan and South Africa. The statue of Buller is unusual in that it is a rare case of an equestrian statue depicting a military general located outside of London. Most statues of this type (which typically depicted either a monarch or a military figure) were usually installed in the metropole at the time, and the statue of Stapleton Cotton in Cheshire is probably the closest artistic counterpart to Buller's statue. Jones had considerable experience in sculpting equestrian statues beforehand, producing works such as Duncan's Horses in 1892 and Persimmon in 1895.

Equestrian statue of Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere

Bronze equestrian statue of the slave-owner, colonial administrator, and military officer Stapleton Cotton, accompanied by inscriptions listing the many military campaigns and colonies Cotton was involved in.

Monument to Ernest Deproge

Bust of Ernest Deproge, in frock coat and with a full beard, one of the symbols worn by French Republicans in the late 19th century.

Monument to Surcouf

Standing in privateer costume, sword in left hand, Surcouf points to the horizon with his right hand.

Monument to Villebois-Mareuil

The monument consists of a base with bas-reliefs and inscriptions, and a statue. The latter depicts Villebois-Mareuil, in colonel's uniform, standing erect, receiving a kiss from a female allegory carrying a moving flag in one hand and supporting it with the other. The movement of the figures represents the moment of the militiaman's death.

Monument to Doctor Hamy

The monument in honor of Doctor Hamy consists of a pedestal on which a bronze bust of Ernest Hamy is mounted, and in front of which an allegorical female figure in a long, full dress, holding a skull in her left hand and a measuring instrument in her right. Stylized ethnographic types are engraved on three sides of the pedestal: a Breton woman on the right, a North American First Nations man and an Asian man at the back, and a South American man on the left.

Nelson's Column

Depicts a standing figure of Nelson, on top of a high Corinthina pillar with an elaborate capitol. Nelson is in a dynamic standing posture, wearing eighteenth-century military attire, and holding a sword in his left hand. The sleeve of the amputated arm is tucked into the lapels of the court. The four sides of the pedestal are decorated with four bronze reliefs, created using captured and melted French cannons. The south-facing panel, titled 'The death of Nelson' depicts a soldier with African features, holding a musket. David Olusoga notes how contemporary observers noticed this figure, their African features, and commented on it positively. Four bronze Barbary lions were added to the base of the column much later, in 1867.

Statue of Winston Churchill, Paris

Churchill, wearing a military coat and cap, walks forward leaning on a cane. The statue was directly inspired by a photograph of the November 11, 1944 parade on the Champs Elysées, led by Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill. https://histoire-image.org/etudes/defile-11-novembre-1944-champs-elysees

Statue of Charles Napier, Trafalgar Square

Statue of Henry Edwards

Statue of Hubert Lyautey, Paris

Hubert Lyautey se tient debout, le regard fixé au loin. Il est tête nue, en uniforme et avec une longue cape militaire, arborant toutes ses décorations, il tient son épée de la main gauche la pointe vers le bas et son képi dans la main droite.

Statue of John Franklin, Spilsby

Statue of Joseph Gallieni, Paris

Statue of King Edward VII, Tooting

Statue of King George IV, Brighton and Hove

Statue of Queen Victoria, Weymouth

Statue of Robert Ascroft

Winston Churchill described the funding of the statue of Robert Ascroft in My Early Life: 'They made a subscription of more than £2,000, the bulk collected in very small sums, to set up a statue to him as ‘The Workers’ Friend’. They stipulated – and I thought it characteristic of these Lancashire operatives – that the money was not to go to anything useful; no beds at a hospital, no extensions to a library, no fountain even, just a memorial. They did not want, they said, to give a present to themselves.' (p. 233)

Statue of William Earle, Liverpool

Statue of William III, Brixham

Statue of William IV, Cheltenham