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Restoration
of Queen Victoria statue in Gravesend set to be completed this
week.
The finish touches are set to be made on Wednesday.
Restoration of a statue of Queen Victoria in Gravesend is set
to be completed this week.
The finishing touches will be made to the statue, which stands
in the borough market, on Wednesday.
The restoration, which has been possible thanks to funding
from the Heritage Lottery Fund, will include missing elements
of the fleur-de-lis on the crown, the cross which surmounts
the orb and the lower portion of the sceptre will all be
replaced together with repairs to the pedestal on which she
stands.
The full scale terracotta statue of the Queen in complete
regalia has stood in Gravesend Borough Market since 1898.
It was presented to the town by George Matthew Arnold in
commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the
statue was sculptured by John Broad and made by Doulton of
Lambeth.
Shortly, prior to the Diamond Jubilee commemorations on Monday
21 June 1897, it became known to the mayor that the statue
would not be in place for its unveiling as part of a large
gathering and parade through the town.
Swift thinking concluded that the only practical alternative
was for the studio model figure of the Queen to be unveiled in
its place. And so it was.
With a further delay due to the death of Sir Henry Doulton,
who was overseeing the project, it was not until the following
spring that the permanent figure was ready and the statues
were then switched.
Bosses then had to consider whether the model statue could
also find a home undercover and protected from the elements to
promote the further ‘embellishment of the town’.
Enquiries were made and it was decided that the model statue
should be placed on a new terracotta pedestal in the market
building.
Conservators from Richard Rogers Conservation will be on site
to undertake the works and the public are welcome come and see
restoration in action.
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