Wallace Memorial, Castle Gardens, Castle Street, Lisburn, Co. Antrim

Wallace Memorial

A free-standing Gothic Revival stone memorial located in Castle Gardens, Lisburn, erected in 1892 by Robinson and Son of Belfast to commemorate Sir Richard Wallace, Baronet, a former resident and Conservative Member of Parliament for the borough.

The monument is constructed of granite and sandstone and rises to a height of 40 feet. It comprises three octagonal-plan rock-faced granite steps supporting a square granite plinth base, with a shaped granite bollard positioned at each corner. The central structure consists of a tall sandstone ashlar core with decoratively carved trefoil-headed carvings forming a panel to each of the four sides. These panels are flanked by polished pink granite colonettes and by taller polished black granite colonettes that support a full canopy with pinnacles at the corners. Flanking the pinnacles are gablets to each side. The four-sided canopy, complete with crockets, tapers to a full fleur-de-lis finial. A bronze relief portrait of Richard Wallace is mounted above the main inscription, which is carved into polished granite on the north-facing panel. The inscription reads: "To perpetuate the memory of one whose delight it was to do good, and in grateful recollection of his generous interest in the prosperity of the town, of which it possesses so many proofs. This monument is erected to Sir Richard Wallace, Bart., K.C.B., some time M.P. for the borough of Lisburn, by the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. Obit. July XX., MDCCCXC."

The monument was restored circa 2007. It forms a conspicuous focal point within Castle Gardens, visible from Castle Street and from the main traffic routes to the south, and holds group value with other listed structures within the gardens.

Sir Richard Wallace (1818–1890) was the reputed illegitimate son of the fourth Marquess of Hertford, though Hertford never acknowledged his paternity. Raised in Paris from early childhood, Wallace worked as his father's secretary and saleroom agent. Upon Hertford's death in 1870, he inherited his father's unentailed art collections and properties in London, Paris, and Ireland. Wallace earned recognition for his philanthropy during the Prussian siege of Paris, donating £12,000 towards a field ambulance and £4,000 towards victims of the shelling. Queen Victoria rewarded him with a baronetcy, and he received the Legion d'honneur. He presented 50 drinking fountains to Paris, many of which remain in place. Wallace transferred much of the art collection to Hertford House in London, where it was displayed from 1872 to 1875. Following successful litigation to establish his claim to the Irish estates, he visited Lisburn in 1873 to a considerable welcome and was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency. He gave the town a public park and, circa 1880, built Castle House. He also served as a commissioner for the Paris Exhibition of 1878 and was made Knight Commander of the Bath the same year. He held trusteeships at both the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery, and lent generously to special exhibitions. Wallace died in Paris in 1890 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. His widow, Lady Wallace, bequeathed his art collection to the nation, where it remains housed in Hertford House.

The memorial first appears on the 1900–02 town plan of Lisburn. The Irish Builder of 15 May 1892 records the completion of the monument and confirms its prominent visibility from both Castle Street and the County Down side of the town.