Statue of William Huskisson

Statue of William Huskisson

A memorial statue in bronze, cast in 1846 by Ferdinand von Miller, director of the Royal Foundry in Munich, from a marble original of 1836 by the sculptor John Gibson. The statue stands on Duke's Terrace, Liverpool.

The figure depicts Huskisson as a standing man in classical dress, wearing a Roman toga with his right shoulder and part of his chest exposed. He looks downward in a pose of reflection. His left hand is raised across his chest and his right hand holds a scroll. Behind the figure stands a bollard inscribed with the inscription: OPUS IOANNIS GIBSON ROMAE / FUDIT FERD. MILLER MONACHII / MDCCCXLVII. The modern granite plinth is not of special interest.

William Huskisson (1770–1830) was Member of Parliament for Liverpool from 1823 to 1830, a keen advocate for free trade, and a supporter of Roman Catholic emancipation. He is now most commonly remembered as the first ever railway fatality, having been struck down by Stephenson's Rocket at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830.

A public subscription raised £3,000 for a memorial. John Gibson, a celebrated local sculptor trained under Antonio Canova, was awarded the commission without a competition. His first marble statue, completed in 1833, was placed in Huskisson's mausoleum designed by John Foster Junior in St James's Cemetery, Liverpool. Many subscribers complained that the statue was not properly visible in the mausoleum. Huskisson's wife then paid for a second marble version, which was intended for the Customs House but was instead placed at the Royal Exchange in London, where it now stands in Pimlico Gardens. Mrs Huskisson subsequently paid for a third version to be cast in bronze. This was unveiled in 1847 in front of the Customs House.

After the Second World War, the Customs House was demolished due to bomb damage. In 1954 the statue was moved to the northern end of the boulevard separating Princes Avenue and Princes Road. In 1982 it was removed from its pedestal due to an erroneous belief that Huskisson was a slave trader. It was then housed at the Oratory at St James's Mount Gardens until 2005, when it was moved to its present location. The statue has been restored since 1997, when it was found to be coated in black epoxy resin with the bronze surface extensively pitted and damaged. The sculpture is notable for its classical treatment of the subject in the manner of a Roman senator, conferring an air of grave dignity and simplicity in contrast to the prevailing fashion of depicting memorial subjects in contemporary dress.