Faraday, West Campus - THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM EDITION - Edgbaston, Birmingham, U.K.
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Mike_bjm
N 52° 27.028 W 001° 56.172
30U E 572294 N 5811674
Bronze sculpture of Michael Faraday who was a nineteenth century British physicist and Chemist. The sculpture is near to the Edgbaston Campus West Gate.
Waymark Code: WM17QV3
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/25/2023
Views: 3
Bronze sculpture of Michael Faraday who was a nineteenth century British physicist and Chemist. The sculpture is near to the Edgbaston Campus West Gate.
The Michael Faraday Sculpture is the work of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi who received the commission form the University of Birmingham to mark its centenary of the granting of its Royal Charter in 2001.
The sculpture is a huge bronze of Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) who was an English scientist whose experiments formed the basis for the laws of electro-magnetic rotation and electrical induction.
Faraday’s work on electromagnetism is represented in the sculpture by the bronze loops held in the figure’s hands.
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The University of Birmingham’s West Gate is for vehicular access by staff only, although it is heavily used by pedestrians arriving at University Railway Station and staff and students coming and going to the medical school which is a short distance to the northwest from the gate.
Set alongside the West Gate is large sign which is displays the University’s Coat of Arms which can be described as follows:
The shield of the University of Birmingham's ‘Official Blazon is shown below:
Per chevron, the chief per pale gules and azure, in dexter a lion rampant with two heads, in sinister a mermaid holding in the dexter hand a mirror and in the sinister a comb Or, the base sable charged with an open book proper, with two buckles and straps and edges of the third, inscribed "Per ardua ad alta". (
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The lion and the mermaid featured on the arms of Mason Science College and the arms of Sir Josiah Mason the founder of the College in 1875. Mason Science College was the precursor and nucleus of the University of Birmingham. (
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The open book is a common symbol for universities and schools. The motto "Per ardua ad alta" means "Through hardship, great heights are reached". (
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“Discovering Heraldry” by Jacqueline Fearn (ISBN: 978-0-74780-660-8)
"The Illustrated Heraldry" by Stephen Slater (ISBN: 978-0-754-83460-1)