Victoria Hall Disaster Memorial in Mowbray Park

The Victoria Hall Disaster Memorial, created in 1884 by sculptor W G Brooker, is located in the north-east part of Mowbray Park. This memorial features a white marble statue set on a grey stone pedestal. The pedestal has a cornice and a stepped base, with a carved wreath on the front dado face. The statue depicts a life-size figure of a robed and seated grieving mother, who holds a dead child across her left knee. The figure, with her arm and head thrown back in despair, is inspired by the classical figure of Niobe mourning her dead children. An inscription on the front face of the pedestal, beneath the carved wreath, reads: ERECTED/TO COMMEMORATE/ THE CALAMITY WHICH TOOK PLACE/IN THE VICTORIA HALL, SUNDERLAND/ON SATURDAY 16 JUNE 1883/BY WHICH 183 CHILDREN LOST THEIR LIVES.