3. QUEEN VICTORIA (1837-1901)

Unveiled 4th May 1904 by the Prince of Wales (later King George V)

Sculptor: Alfred Drury, RA (1859-1944)

It is perhaps hard for us now to understand the enormous impact the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 had upon the nation as a whole. Towns and cities throughout the country wished to celebrate her reign and their own growth ofprosperity during it, in the form of a public monument. Bradford was no exception and in commissioning Alfred Drury as the sculptor, chose one of the most important and well recognised sculptors of the day.

Queen Victoria is depicted as she would have been at her first 'ubilee in 1887, wearing full regalia, crowned, and with a wreath symbolising her status as Empress of India. She holds in one hand a sceptre and in the other hand, held aloft, an orb surmounted by a winged figure of Victory or Peace. Notice the superb modelling of the drapery and falls of her gown, the details of the widow's veil and the embroidery on the base of her dress celebrating the British Isles with thistle for Scotland, roses for England and Yorkshire, and shamrocks for Ireland.

The winged figure on the orb is also worth closer scrutiny, particularly if you are lucky enough to have brought binoculars or a zoom camera lens. This tiny figure is again perfectly modelled and holds a laurel branch of Peace.

Alfred Drury was one of a group known as 'The New Sculptors' who worked at the turn of the century. Their work concentrates the ideals of physical detail with symbolic meaning.

Queen Victoria is 12 feet high and was cast by the founders J.W. Singer & Sons, Frome using 3 tons of bronze. The founders' stamp can be found on the base left of the Queen, and the artist's signature can be seen on the front of the base. Drury received a fee of  £1,800 for the work, but the total cost of the statue amounted to £3,050. The statue was unveiled by the Prince of Wales (later George V) and was attended by a crowd of 70, 000 people.

The pedestal and balustrade were all part of an architectural scheme designed by J.W. Simpson (also the architect of Wembley Stadium and of Cartwright Hall Museum and Art Gallery, opened on the same day by the Prince of Wales). The stone lions, although apparently unsigned, were carved by Alfred Broadbent (fl.1890-1910), a local sculptor from Shipley.

Alfred Drury became one of Bradford's most favoured sculptors. A fine representation of his portrait work and 'ideal' work can be seen at Cartwright Hall. He was a highly gifted sculptor, whose progress through the South Kensington School of Art was considered quite remarkable. After winning various medals for modelling, he won a National Scholarship in 1879 which gave him free tuition and maintenance for 2 years. Whilst at Art School, he trained under one of the finest French 19th century sculptors, Alme Jules Dalou and when Dalou returned to France, Drury went with him as his studio assistant, where he assisted on some of the finest Republican sculpture in Paris.Perhaps, apart from his natural talent, Drury's gift as a modeller owes much to the boldness of form seen far more in French sculpture than in British.

On the boundary wall of the garden to the rear of the statue is a system of standard lengths installed by the Corporation of the City of Bradford in 1913. just below Queen Victoria and perhaps slightly obscuring the original grand scheme other monument is Bradford's First World War Memorial.