Statue of Edmund Burke, Bristol

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bronze statue of a man in 18th-century costume, standing with right arm raised, set on a red stone pedestal in an urban setting with trees behind it, with inscription in gold-coloured lettering beginning "BURKE 1774-1780"
The statue in 2012

The statue of Edmund Burke in Bristol, England, is a commemorative bronze sculpture of Edmund Burke (1729–1797) standing in The Centre, created in 1894 by James Havard Thomas. It is grade II listed.

Overview[edit]

Standing in The Centre, Bristol, the statue is a commemorative bronze sculpture of Edmund Burke (1729–1797) by James Havard Thomas, created in 1894.[1][2] It is grade II listed.[1] A second copy of the sculpture stands on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., United States. It has been said[3] incorrectly that the statue is a copy of an 1858 marble work in the Palace of Westminster; that marble statue is by William Theed, the younger.[4][5]

The bronze statue stands on a red granite plinth with the inscription "BURKE / 1774–1780 / I wish to be an MP to have my share of doing good and resisting evil / Speech at Bristol 1780".[1] Burke was Member of Parliament for Bristol from 1774 to 1780.[6]

The National Heritage List for England record for the statue of Edward Colston which until June 2020 stood nearby gives as one of its reasons for listing the "Group value with other Bristol memorials: a statue of Edmund Burke, the Cenotaph, and a drinking fountain commemorating the Industrial and Fine Art Exhibition of 1893", referring to this statue, the Bristol Cenotaph and the 1893 Exhibition fountain.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Statue of Edmund Burke (1282140)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Edmund Burke, (sculpture)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian Museum. Retrieved 11 June 2020. Describes the Washington copy but has useful description of the work
  3. ^ "Statues and Sculptures: 19th Century Traditional". About Bristol. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Statesman; orator; author". National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. ^ Merritt, Douglas (2002). Sculpture in Bristol. Stephen Morris, Janet Margrie. Bristol: Redcliffe. ISBN 1-900178-83-4. OCLC 48195579.
  6. ^ "1754-1790: Bristol". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  7. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Edward Colston (1202137)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 June 2020.