Statue of Queen Victoria, St Helens

The Statue of Queen Victoria stands on the western side of Victoria Square, St Helens, Merseyside, England. It was created after the death of Queen Victoria and given to the town by Colonel William Windle Pilkington, mayor of St Helens in 1902, and a member of the Pilkington glass manufacturers in the town. Pilkington commissioned George Frampton to design it. Frampton used the same model for the figure of the queen for two other statues, but placed it on thrones and pedestals of different designs. The St Helens statue was unveiled by the Earl of Derby in 1905. Originally placed in the centre of Victoria Square, it was moved to a position on the west side of the square in 2000. The statue is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

1. History

Colonel William Windle Pilkington (1839–1914) was mayor of St Helens in 1902, the year of the Coronation of King Edward VII. Pilkington was the eldest son of Richard Pilkington, who had founded the Pilkington Brothers Glassworks in the town, and he was the technical director and chairman of the company. In order to celebrate his mayoralty, and to recognise the benefits the town had received during the life of Queen Victoria, who had died the previous year, Pilkington offered to give a statue of the queen to the town. He commissioned George Frampton to design it. Frampton had previously been commissioned during the lifetime of the queen in 1898 by the Queen Empress Commemoration Fund to create a statue for Calcutta (now Kolkata) in India. This depicted Queen Victoria sitting on a throne, a concept inspired by the statue of the queen by Alfred Gilbert in 1887 for Winchester Castle. When Frampton's statue was unveiled in Calcutta by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, he told Frampton that no future copies should be made of the statue. However, Frampton used the same idea, that of an enthroned queen, for Pilkington's commission, and he used the same model for casting statues in Leeds and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, placing the statues on thrones and pedestals of differing designs. The architects employed for the statue were Briggs and Wolstenholme of Liverpool, and it was built by W. Thornton and Son, also of Liverpool. The statue was unveiled on 15 April 1905 by the Earl of Derby. The statue was originally placed against the Gamble Institute (a technical institute), but in 1910, with the agreement of Colonel Pilkington and Frampton, it was turned through 90 degrees to face the Town Hall. In 2000, the statue was restored by the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool, and then replaced in a different position on the west side of Victoria Square.

1. Description

The statue consists of a figure in bronze on a base of granite and a pedestal of sandstone. The figure is about 3.2 metres (10.5 ft) high and the base and pedestal together are about 3.4 metres (11.2 ft) in height. Queen Victoria sits on a throne, with the sceptre resting on her right forearm, and holding an orb in her left hand. The orb is decorated with a rose, to represent Lancashire. The queen is wearing a brocade dress with a sash, and a cloak. Her feet are resting on a cushion. The throne is in the Arts and Crafts style. Behind the queen's head is a laurel wreath, giving the appearance of a halo. Flanking the throne are two pillars, each surmounted by a capital in the form of attenuated oak trees. On top of the capitals are finials with carved harps on the fronts, to signify Ireland, and on the backs are lions rampart for Scotland. On the back of the throne is a statue of Saint George in armour, representing England. Supporting the statue is a base and a pedestal, both square with canted angles, on a hexagonal step. On the pedestal is a bronze plaque inscribed:

VICTORIA 1837–1901 and on the base is a plaque reading:

ERECTED BY COLONEL W.W. PILKINGTON. VD., J.P. 1906

1. Appraisal

The memorial was designated as a Grade II* listed building on 12 December 1984. Grade II* is the middle of the three grades of listing designated by English Heritage, and is granted to particularly important buildings of more than special interest.

1. See also

Grade II* listed buildings in Merseyside Listed buildings in St Helens, Merseyside

1. Notes and references

Notes

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Sources

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St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens () is a large town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 117,308. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens which had a population of 183,200 at the 2021 Census. The town is 6 miles (10 kilometres) north of the River Mersey, in the south-west part of historic Lancashire. The town was initially a small settlement within the historic county's ancient hundred of West Derby in the township of Windle but by the mid-1700s the town had developed into a larger urban area beyond the townships borders. By 1838 the council was formally made responsible for the administration of Windle and the three other townships of Eccleston, Parr and Sutton that were to form the town's traditional shape. In 1868 the town was incorporated as a municipal borough, then later became a county borough in 1887. In 1974 the town was made a metropolitan borough within the new Metropolitan County of Merseyside by the Local Government Act 1972, with an expanded administrative responsibility for several nearby towns and villages. The town was famous for its heavy industry, particularly its role in the coal mining industry, glassmaking, chemicals and copper smelting and sail making that drove its growth throughout the Industrial Revolution. Originally home to a large number of industrial employers such as Beechams, the Gamble Alkali Works, Ravenhead Glass, United Glass Bottles (UGB), Triplex, Daglish Foundry, Greenall's brewery, the glass producer Pilkington is the town's only remaining large industrial employer. The town is today most famous for its Rugby League team St Helens R.F.C. who have won 3 World Club Challenge cups in recent years, and museums such as the North West Museum of Road Transport, the World of Glass and art installations such as Dream.

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St Helens Town Hall

St Helens Town Hall is a municipal building in Bickerstaffe Street in St Helens, Merseyside, England. Although the town hall itself, which is the headquarters of St Helens Council, is not a listed building, there are two telephone kiosks flanking the entrance which are listed.

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St Helens Central railway station (Great Central Railway)

St Helens Central (GCR) railway station served the town of St Helens, England with passenger traffic between 1900 and 1952 and goods traffic until 1965. It was the terminus of a branch line from Lowton St Mary's.

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Holy Cross Church, St Helens

Holy Cross and St Helen Church is a Roman Catholic church in St Helens, Merseyside. The church was built in 1860 by the Society of Jesus. It was designed by Joseph John Scoles and is a Grade II listed building.

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