Queen Victoria Memorial

LANCASTER

SD4761NE DALTON SQUARE 1685-1/7/109 Queen Victoria Memorial 18/02/70

GV II*

Monument to Queen Victoria. 1906. Executed by Herbert Hampton and presented by Lord Ashton. Portland stone ashlar with bronze reliefs and statuary. The principal elements are a large square plinth, surrounded by bas-relief panels, and a tall pedestal on which stands a statue. The plinth, approx 7m square and mounted on 2 steps, is hollow-sided with rounded corners; its base is shaped as a seat with a hollowed back-rest. Beneath a prominent cornice, its sides are filled with large bas-reliefs portraying groups of eminent Victorians, framed by bronze pilasters, and its corners are occupied by exuberantly executed high-relief representations of Wisdom, Truth, Liberty and Justice, each with a seated woman surrounded by angels and putti. On top of the plinth, seated lions at the corners guard a tall tapered pedestal, on which stands the statue of the Queen, elderly but sternly regal; she is bearing a mace and facing the Town Hall (qv) on the south side of the Square. The south side of the pedestal bears an inscription in bronze lettering - 'VICTORIA 1837-1901' - beneath a roundel carved with the Royal Arms, and the north side has an inscription in similar lettering: 'GIVEN TO HIS NATIVE TOWN BY LORD ASHTON A.D. 1906'.

Listing NGR: SD4786761615