An information board in front of the statue has the story behind it.
QUEEN VICTORIA'S STATUE
After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 a Memorial Committee was formed, and a subscription fund launched to raise money for a statue of the Queen. Nearly £8000 was raised, and George J. Frampton was commissioned to redesign Victoria Square. His scheme would have meant raising the level of the square, surrounding it with a balustrade, and planting trees round a statue of the Queen in the centre. There were to be broad carriage drives on each side. It was also planned to demolish properties opposite the Town Hall to create a vista across to the station. Buying up the properties for demolition was too costly, and this part of the scheme was abandoned. The design for the statue was approved, and Frampton's 30ft high bronze figure of Queen Victoria was placed in the centre of Victoria Square. The seated figure stands on a base of Portland stone, and there are bronze figures of Peace and Industry on either side. The statue was unveiled by the Lord Mayor, Edwin Woodhouse, on 27th November 1905. As a photograph of 1905 shows, a large crowd gathered to watch the proceedings.
In 1937 Victoria Square was remodelled. A terrace was built, approached by steps from the road (then Park Lane), and the curved steps in front of the Town Hall replaced by straight ones, to allow a carriageway and car park to be built in front of the Hall. The statues of Wellington, Peel and Queen Victoria were removed to Woodhouse Moor.
The Coat of Arms
This coat of arms has changed over the years in line with the changing fortunes of Leeds itself. The original arms from 1666 were simply a shield with 3 stars and a fleece. The 3 stars were taken from the arms of Sir Thomas Danby, the first Mayor of Leeds and the fleece symbolised that Leeds main trade was wool.
By the time of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 3 owls had been added. 2 Large ones as supporters and 1 on top of the shield. These were taken from the arms of Sir John Saville, the first Alderman of Leeds.
Leeds is very proud of its owls, and they have been used to decorate many places in the city on their own without being incorporated in the full coat of arms. The use of the owls by the Saville family dates back to before 1066 when the family was granted large tracts of land in England for helping William the Conqueror of Normandy to take over England. They appear to be Eagle Owls, but it is not sure why they were originally used because it is not believed any existed in Europe at that time.
The Latin motto ‘Pro Rege et Lege’ means ‘For King and the Law’.
The City of Leeds
"Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshire's West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to a wooded area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a major centre for the production and trading of wool.
During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major mill town; wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important. From being a compact market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. The main built-up area sub-division has a population of 474,632 (2011), and the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, of which it is a part, has a population of around 757,700 (2011) making it the third largest city in the United Kingdom.
Today, Leeds has the most diverse economy of the all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of public to private sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities. The city has the third largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is also ranked as a gamma world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network; and is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the country's fourth largest urban economy.
After London, Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in the UK, and in 2011 its financial and insurance services industry was worth £2.1 billion. with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds is also the UK's third largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.8% of total employment in the city. The largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology.
Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station and 9th busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers in England. Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. Its assigned role in the Leeds City Region partnership recognises the city's importance to regional economic development, and the second phase of High Speed 2 plans to connect Leeds to London via East Midlands Hub and Sheffield Meadowhall."
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