Colin Minton Campbell was the grandson of famous potter Thomas Minton and in 1880 was elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent and occupied office for three years, he died in 1885.
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In 1887 Thomas Brock was commissioned to create a sculpture in the memory of Colin Minton Campbell. The bronze statue depicts Campbell on top of the tall pedestal of grey Cornish granite, which stands eight feet in height.
The money was raised by public subscription "from artisans as well as those in better circumstances" which testified to his popularity.
It represents Mr Campbell standing bare-headed in ordinary dress, his left hand in his pocket, his right hand holds a scroll and rests on a bronze reproduction of one of his company’s products. An enriched tripod, with storks at the angles and floral decorations in the panels. On top of the tall pedestal with the stork motifs is a small decorative bowl with handles, indicative of his connection with pottery.
Thomas Brock was born in Worcester in 1847, where he later attended the School of Design. In 1866 he became a pupil of fellow sculpture John Henry Foley after an apprenticeship at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. Brock took over some of Foleys commissions after his death in 1874. (
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On the three sides of the base are the following inscriptions:
'Colin Minton Campbell, born August 27th 1827, died February 8th 1885'.
'A successful manufacturer, a leading townsman and generous friend'.
'High Sheriff 1869, Member of Parliament for North Staffordshire 1874 to 1887, Thrice Lord Mayor of Stoke 1880-1883.'
On the back:
'Unveiled by her Grace the
Duchess of Sutherland
on the 1st of January 1887
in the 3rd year of the Mayoralty of
Alderman Leason.
Inscribed on the plinth below the sculpture;
T.Brock, A.R.A. Sculp.t
London 1886
Inscribed on a metal plaque on the front, at the bottom of the base:
Restored for the people of Stoke-on-Trent
by
Sainsburys March 2003
The statue was unveiled by the Duchess of Sutherland at a public ceremony in January 1887. The statue stood at the northern end of Campbell Place until the 1928, when it was moved to a site out side the Kings Hall, Kingsway to facilitate new traffic arrangements. In 1954 it was moved from there to a site outside the new Minton Factory. In 2002 the statue was moved to the new Royal Doulton headquarters site in Forge Lane, Etruria. The Minton works in Stoke were sold & demolished late 2002 to make way for a new Sainsburys supermarket. The statue was refurbished by Sainsburys and resited in a more prominent position on London Road. In addition, a new pedestal was made for it, with the same inscription but higher than the original one.
The Minton archive has newspaper cuttings about the move. (
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A postcard showing the statue in Campbell Place can be seen at the following links. (
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