Thomas Browne - Hay Hill - Norwich, Norfolk
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SMacB
N 52° 37.642 E 001° 17.573
31U E 384455 N 5832187
A bronze statue of Sir Thomas Browne, an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. Situated on Hay Hill, Norwich.
Waymark Code: WMQQJ7
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/19/2016
Views: 6
"The central square or Market Place in Norwich is occupied by the covered market, and dominated on its more elevated, western side by the 1930s City Hall, and on the left as you face the City Hall is the large church of St Peter Mancroft. There is an important bronze statue at the foot and extension of the square at the rear of the church, Sir Thomas Browne, by the sculptor Henry A Pegram – it is signed and dated 1905. The plinth describes the subject as ‘physician and philosopher’, and his time was of the 17th Century. He is shown seated, resting on one elbow and contemplating a broken, ancient shard of pottery. His clothes are flamboyant, his hair and moustache rather Shakespearian, and altogether he presents a noble and heroic aspect. His chair is a somewhat heavy baroque thing, almost a throne. The monument to Thomas Browne is in the church.
The sculptor, Henry A Pegram, is not so well known today, and is sometimes confused with the not particularly better known Bertram Pegram. The rather excellent Thomas Browne statue is one of his best. He has a second work in Norwich, the Edith Cavell monument in Tombland [ed. See WMN0A2 (
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"Sir Thomas Browne (19 October 1605 – 19 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. Browne's writings display a deep curiosity towards the natural world, influenced by the scientific revolution of Baconian enquiry. Browne's literary works are permeated by references to Classical and Biblical sources as well as the idiosyncrasies of his own personality. Although often described as suffering from melancholia, his writings are also characterised by wit and subtle humour, while his literary style is varied, according to genre, resulting in a rich, unique prose which ranges from rough notebook observations to polished Baroque eloquence."
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