Statue of Robert Peel, Parliament Square

The statue of Robert Peel in Parliament Square, London, is a bronze sculpture of Sir Robert Peel, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was sculpted by Matthew Noble and was one of the first three statues to be placed in the square.

Robert Peel
The statue in 2015
ArtistMatthew Noble
Year1876 (1876)
TypeStatue
MediumBronze
SubjectRobert Peel
LocationLondon, SW1
United Kingdom
Coordinates51.5005°N 0.1273°W / 51.5005; -0.1273

Description

The statue of Sir Robert Peel by sculptor Matthew Noble stands in Parliament Square facing Great George Street in the south-west corner of the square.[1][2] It is a bronze statue on a granite plinth, and is Grade II listed.[2]

History

In 1871, it was proposed that three statues of Sir Robert Peel, Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby and Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston should be erected. Following a report to HM Treasury, it was identified that the two gardens forming Parliament Square could be adjusted so that it could accommodate 18 statues in total. It was originally proposed to build all the plinths at once, and leaving them unoccupied until statues were completed.[3]

The statue of Sir Robert Peel was the last work by Noble to be completed:[4] he died on 23 June 1876.[5] The statue was cast at Cox and Son's foundry in Thames Ditton in September 1876. The granite plinth had already been completed on site, and it was hoped at the time that the statue would be in place by the end of the year.[4] There was no ceremony to unveil the statue in December 1876, at the request of the Committee.[6] It was the third of the group of statues to be placed in Parliament Square.[7] Following the placement of the statue of Robert Peel in the square, it was considered that it might be appropriate to add further statues of statesmen because of the location next to the Houses of Parliament.[8]

In June 2020, the statue was vandalized during the George Floyd protests[9] and a petition was created demanding its removal because Peel founded the Metropolitan Police Service.[10] The statue was not removed.

See also

References
  1. "Sir Robert Peel". Leicester Daily Mercury. III (887). British Newspaper Archive. 2 December 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  2. "Statues". London.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  3. "Statues of Statesmen at Westminster". Western Daily Press. XXVI (4064). British Newspaper Archive. 6 June 1871. p. 4. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  4. "General News". Edinburgh Evening News (1035). British Newspaper Archive. 15 September 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  5. "Death of Mr. Matthew Noble". Grantham Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 1 July 1876. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. "Statue of Sir Robert Peel". Sheffield Independent. LX (6420). British Newspaper Archive. 12 December 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  7. "Domestic Intelligence". Bury and Norwich Post (4929). British Newspaper Archive. 19 December 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  8. "General News". Leamington Spa Courier. L (3). British Newspaper Archive. 20 January 1877. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  9. McCoid, Sophie; Armstrong, Gary; George, Thomas (2020-06-08). "Protesters vandalise Robert Peel statue and want others torn down". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  10. George, Thomas (2020-06-08). "Robert Peel statue vandalised amid calls to remove Piccadilly Gardens monument". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
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