Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue is a Grade II listed building in the Reading local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 December 1978. Statue. 6 related planning applications.
Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue
- WRENN ID
- over-barrel-swift
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Reading
- Constituency
- Reading Central MP: Matt Rodda (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 December 1978
- Type
- Statue
- Address
- Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue, Friar Street, RG1 1DB
- OS grid reference
- SU 716 735
- Coordinates
- 51.45655, -0.97018
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue, created by George Blackall Simonds between 1843 and 1929, was erected in 1887. The statue is made of Carrara marble and is set on a square plinth with corner bollards made of red granite.
Located in the north-west of Town Hall Square, the statue faces north towards Blagrave Street and Reading Station. It depicts Queen Victoria in regal attire, holding the Sovereign’s Orb in her left hand and the Sovereign’s Sceptre in her right hand. The statue stands on a high plinth that features a moulded cornice and base, which is supported by a wide step, each corner marked by a red granite bollard.
The upper section of the plinth is decorated with a ribbon swag on its north face. Inscribed cartouches are present on both the north and south sides of the plinth. The inscription on the north side reads ‘VICTORIA / D: G: / BRITANNIAR: REG: / INDIÆ IMP: / FID: DEF: / MDCCC / LXXX / VII,’ while the south face states ‘ERECTED / TO COMMEMORATE / THE COMPLETION OF / THE FIFTIETH YEAR OF / HER MAJESTY’S REIGN / JUNE 20th 1889 / ARTHUR HILL MAYOR.’
Local climate
Queen Victoria Jubilee Statue sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 73% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 53% of listed buildings. Of these, 14 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
Sign in or create a free account to unlock:
- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 2 transactions since 2018
- Related listed building consents — 6 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings