Queen Victoria - South Shields, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 54° 59.692 W 001° 25.773
30U E 600467 N 6095347
This memorial statue to Queen Victoria was erected in 1913 to commemorate her death in 1901.
Waymark Code: WM1A172
Location: North East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/01/2024
Views: 0
The statue of Queen Victoria
The bronze statue stands outside the entrance to the town and is a twice life-size depiction of the aged Queen in full royal regalia with orb and sceptre. There is finely detailed patterns on her robes and the statue stands on a pedestal of white stone.
The idea of erecting a statue was raised not long after her death in 1901, but because the town hall was under construction at the time, space did not become available until after the town hall was complete. It was erected in 2013 and paid for by public subscription, the sculptor was Albert Toft and built by William Kirkpatrick Ltd.
There is an inscription on front of the pedestal.
VICTORIA
QUEEN EMPRESS
1837 - 1901
There is also an inscription on the rear of the pedestal.
ERECTED
BY
PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
1913
Queen Victoria
"Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Known as the Victorian era, her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than any previous British monarch. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, Parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was raised under close supervision by her mother and her comptroller, John Conroy. She inherited the throne aged 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. Though a constitutional monarch, privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
Victoria married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. Their children married into royal and noble families across the continent, earning Victoria the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe" and spreading haemophilia in European royalty. After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism in the United Kingdom temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. She died on the Isle of Wight in 1901. The last British monarch of the House of Hanover, she was succeeded by her son Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha."
Wikipedia