The bronze statue is fitted on top of a
1.8 metre (6 feet) high granite plinth. The plinth has on its front the
inscription 'Richard Green -1866-'. On the east side, in bronze relief, is
the side view of the hull of a sailing ship. On the west side, also in bronze
relief, is an image showing a shipyard with three hulls being
constructed.
The larger than life statue, cast from bronze, has Green
seated in a chair. He is wearing a suit with a cloak thrown over the chair back
and his arms are resting on the arms of the chair. Under his left hand and
resting on his left leg is what appears to be a book. He is bear headed and he
is looking slightly to his left. He has a head of thick, curly hair.
On the floor, to the front of his left leg, sits a dog on
its haunches. The dog's head is resting on Green's right knee with eyes gazing
up at his master.
The right ear of the dog is missing and this is attributed
to it being cut off to release a small boy who had become stuck on the statue -
see the PMSA article below.
The statue is Grade II listed and the entry at the English
Heritage website [visit
link] briefly tells us:
"Sculptor, Edward W Wyon 1865, cast by Henry Prince and
Co, Statue Foundry, Southwark. Bronze statue on pedestal of granite with 2 bas
relief bronze panels of ship and ship building yard."
Wikipedia [visit
link] tells about Green:
"Green was born at Blackwall in December 1803, the son
of George Green, by his first marriage with Miss Perry, daughter of a
shipbuilder of repute at Blackwall. On the introduction of the elder Green into
Perry's business, he became a shipowner, and fitted out a number of vessels in
the whaling trade, thus laying the foundation of the house which at the time of
his son's admission to the firm was styled Green, Wigram, & Green.
Increasing their operations the partners took advantage of the East India
Company's charter to build East Indiamen, for which they became well known. On
the death of the head of the firm and the consequent dissolution of partnership,
Richard Green continued the business in conjunction with his then surviving
brother Henry.
Green increased the number of vessels until the
discovery of gold in Australia, when he and his brother launched a large number
of ships for this voyage also. To this service they were about to add another to
China, one vessel having made the voyage just before Green's death, and a second
being then near completion.
Green devoted much care to the improvement of the
mercantile marine. The establishment of the Sailors' Home was one of his
earliest efforts. In connection with it he provided a course of instruction in
navigation for officers and men. He was the principal supporter of schools at
Poplar, at which two thousand children were taught and partly clothed. To the
Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum, the Dreadnought Hospital, the Poplar Hospital,
and many other charities he was a great benefactor. Green was affectionately
regarded in East London.
He warmly interested himself in the naval reserve, and
was chairman of the committee and a chief mover in the employment of the Thames
Marine Officers' Training Ship. His favourite saying was that 'he had no time to
hesitate,' and he was noteworthy for his unfailing promptitude, quick decision,
clear judgment, and great business acumen. He died near Regent's Park on 17 Jan.
1863, and his funeral at Trinity Chapel, Poplar (founded by his father), was
attended by an immense concourse. Green left by his will a large number of
charitable bequests, including a free gift of the building and a perpetual
endowment of his Sailors' Home at Poplar."
The PMSA website [visit link] also tells
us:
"Seated figure of Green shown in relaxed pose with his
Newfoundland dog sitting at his feet, the dog's head resting on its master's
left knee. The dog's right ear is missing. On the bow-fronted, granite pedestal
are two bronze bas-relief panels, the east-facing one showing a shipyard scene,
the west-facing one showing a single ship.
Richard Green was a local ship owner and philanthropist,
and this statue was proposed by friends and admirers within days of his death in
1863, being erected in its present location in 1866. 'A big impressive monument
showing the shipowner seated at ease, his foolishly adoring Newfoundland dog,
Hector, resting its head on his knee: this impression of domesticity and power
recalls Green's philanthropy and concern for the individual which won him the
affection of East Londoners.
The Poplar Hospital which he assisted, and the Sailors'
Home which he founded, stood near the site of his statue outside the Poplar
Baths and Laundries.
His death was noted in the Illustrated London News as
"little less than a calamity". On the west face of his pedestal, in strong
relief, is an ugly-looking frigate under production for the Spanish government
at the time of Green's death. On the east face is shown the first ship
dispatched by Green's Blackwall shipyard on the China run . . . Green . . .
found time to improve his men's conditions and, more broadly, the Merchant
Service, as well as for local good works. His major role in founding the
Merchant Service training ship, HMS Worcester, later secured him its first
Chairmanship; he was also involved in forming the Royal Naval Reserve at the
time of his death.
Green's statue, proposed within days, was subscribed by
admirers both local and from the far continents plied by his ships'. More
recently, the statue suffered the loss of the right ear of Hector, the faithful
Newfoundland dog seated at its master's feet. A contemporary newspaper account
comments: 'In 1967 [10 year old Patrick Heneghan] hit the headlines when a trip
to the swimming baths ended with him being trapped by a dog. Patrick's friends
had thrown his swimming trunks onto the statue. He climbed up to rescue them and
his leg became trapped between the stone dog and the ship owner. Firemen were
called to the scene but they couldn't budge Patrick, then of Huddart Street,
Bow. He was finally freed after firemen cut an ear off the dog'.
In the Survey of London series, volume XLIII, the statue
is referred to as being 'executed in 1865-6 by the sculptor Edward W. Wyon
(1811-85), who had already produced a bust of Green. The bronze casting, thought
"very fine" was carried out at the Southwark foundry of Henry Prince and
Company. The well composed figure shows Green, whose features were modelled from
a death mask, seated with his Newfoundland dog at his knee . . . The statue was
unveiled in May 1866 and it is that year-date, not the year of Green's death,
that is on the pedestal'. Richard Green 1830-63."