View source for History:Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate

{{Short description|1887 memorial in North Yorkshire, England}}
{{Infobox monument
| name        = Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate
| image       = Jubilee Memorial 1887 Harrogate 16 July 2021 (34).JPG
| image_size  = 
| caption     = 
| location    = Station Square, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
| mapframe    = 
| designer    = Arthur Bown
| type        = Gothic Revival shrine, reminiscent of the Albert Memorial
| material    = {{hlist|[[Earth:Sandstone|Sandstone]]| [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]]| Sicilian [[Chemistry:Marble|marble]]}}
| height      = {{cvt|45|ft|m|2}}.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" />
| width       = {{cvt|9.5|ft|m|2}}.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" />
| weight      = 
| begin       = 14 April 1887
| complete    = 1887
| dedicated   = 6 October 1887
| restore     = 
| map_name    = North Yorkshire
| map_text    = 
| map_width   = 
| map_relief  = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|53.9923|-1.5381|display=inline,title}}
}}

The '''Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate''', is a Grade II listed building. It is a Gothic Revival stone memorial in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, commemorating the 1887 golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. It was donated to Harrogate by its mayor, Richard Ellis, designed by architect Arthur Bown, and unveiled by the Marquis of Ripon.

The monument is built of [[Earth:Sandstone|sandstone]] in three storeys, with [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]] shafts and a Sicilian [[Chemistry:Marble|marble]] statue of Queen Victoria by sculptor William John Seward Webber. The lowest storey is a square stone plinth, which carries the dedications. The middle storey contains the statue of Victoria. The upper storey is the carved stone canopy, in the form of a spire.

==Description==
This is a Grade II listed building,<ref name="NHLE 1315844" >{{NHLE |num=1315844 |desc=Jubilee memorial |accessdate=12 March 2021}}</ref> designed by the local architect Arthur Bown of H. E. and A. Bown, Harrogate.{{Refn|Although Arthur Bown's brother and business partner Henry Edwin Bown died six years before the Jubilee Memorial was formally opened, the local newspapers credited him along with his brother Arthur for his share in the architectural design.|group=nb}} It was constructed by Richardson of Scarborough, and it contains a statue of Queen Victoria executed by William John Seward Webber.<ref name="Scott 1902" >{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=W. Herbert |editor1-last=Pike |editor1-first=W.T. |title=Central West Riding of Yorkshire at the opening of the 20th century, contemporary biographies |date=1902 |publisher=W.T. Pike & Co. |location=Brighton, UK |page=253 |edition=1}}</ref><ref name="Census 1901" >{{Cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/7814/images/YRKRG13_4054_4057-0417?backlabel=ReturnSearchResults&queryId=8df59d13d713e7c1c2e4e97863f789c3&pId=25831684 |title=Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901 RG13 piece 4055 folio 53 page 10 |access-date=11 November 2022 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116170351/https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/7814/images/YRKRG13_4054_4057-0417?backlabel=ReturnSearchResults&queryId=8df59d13d713e7c1c2e4e97863f789c3&pId=25831684 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Leeds Mercury 7 October 1887" /><ref name="Statues" >{{cite web |last1=Van der Krogt |first1=Rene |last2=Van der Krogt |first2=Pieter |title=Queen Victoria |url=https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?webpage=ST&record=gbyh147 |website=statues.vanderkrogt.net |publisher=Statues hither and thither |access-date=14 July 2021 |date=29 July 2019}}</ref> According to English Heritage, the canopy was also carved by Webber.<ref name="NHLE 1315844" /> The body of the monument is constructed of [[Earth:Sandstone|sandstone]], and the statue is of [[Place:Sicily|Sicilian]] [[Chemistry:Marble|marble]]. The [[Earth:Column|column]]s are of Scottish pink and grey [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]]. The ''Leeds Mercury'' (1887) said:<ref name="Leeds Mercury 7 October 1887" >{{cite news |title=Unveiling the statue of Queen Victoria at Harrogate |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000076/18871007/006/0003 |access-date=14 July 2021 |work=Leeds Mercury |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=7 October 1887 |page=3 col.4}}</ref> 
<blockquote>This is a statue of the Queen in white marble ... The statue finds a place in a stone structure in the Decorated Gothic style, verging upon the Perpendicular. There are, so to speak, three [[Storey|stories]]. The lower one forms the [[Engineering:Pedestal|pedestal]]. This is square, and has at each angle a [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]] shaft, surmounted by a lion rampant and shield. One of the panels bears an inscription stating the object and date of the monument. The second or principal story is an arched [[Engineering:Canopy (building)|canopy]], under which the statue stands, and this is supported by [[Engineering:Pier (architecture)|pier]]s with granite shafts. The arches are decorated, and there are crocketed gablets and [[Engineering:Pinnacle|pinnacle]]s, the centre of each gablet having a [[Trefoil|trefoil]]ed panel, with the borough coat-of-arms. The upper story takes the form of a graceful spire. The height of the monument is {{cvt|45|ft|m|2}}, and the base is {{cvt|9|ft|6|in|m}} square, the whole being enclosed by an ornamental railing. The statue is {{cvt|6|ft|6|in|m}} in height, and has been carved out of a block of [[Place:Sicily|Sicilian]] marble weighing 4½ tons. Her Majesty is represented standing with the [[Sceptre|sceptre]] in her right hand, and the pose is calm and dignified. She wears the Imperial crown, and is attired in a reception dress trimmed with lace. Upon her breast is the Order of the Garter and that of Victoria and Albert. Her necklace contains the famous Koh-i-Noor. The train of the dress is gracefully arranged, and the design generally is admirable. The more striking feature of the statue, however, is the faithful likeness of Her Majesty which the sculptor, Mr. Webber, has presented. He has evidently done his work in a conscientious manner, and the result must tend to enhance his reputation as a sculptor.<ref name="Leeds Mercury 7 October 1887" /></blockquote>

The monument originally had "magnificent iron railings".<ref name="Neesam 2005 Pock Im" /> They were lost during the [[Social:World War I|First World War]] under Regulation 50 of the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939, when the Ministry of Works requisitioned ironwork for use in [[Engineering:Ammunition|munitions]] manufacture.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hansard |title=Requisitioned railings |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1943/jul/13/requisitioned-railings |website=api.parliament.uk |publisher=H.M. Government |access-date=17 October 2022 |date=13 July 1943}}</ref> However, there is some doubt as to what really happened to the railings, following requisition.<ref>{{cite web |title=So What Really Happened to our Railings? |url=https://www.londongardenstrust.org/features/railings3.htm |website=londongardenstrust.org |publisher=London Gardens Trust |access-date=17 October 2022 |date=23 March 2015}}</ref>
<gallery mode=packed heights="200px">
Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate (1).jpg|The Jubilee Memorial, 1887
Jubilee Memorial 1887 Harrogate 16 July 2021 (77a).JPG|''Queen Victoria'' by Webber, 1887
Jubilee Memorial 1887 Harrogate 16 July 2021 (71a).JPG|''Queen Victoria'' by Webber, 1887
Jubilee Memorial 1887 Harrogate 16 July 2021 (76b).jpg|''Queen Victoria'' by Webber, 1887. Showing the Koh-i-Noor [[Engineering:Cabochon|cabochon]] diamond on her necklace. 
Jubilee Memorial 1887 Harrogate 16 July 2021 (85a).JPG|''Queen Victoria'' by Webber, 1887
</gallery>

==History==
===Planning and funding===
The memorial was planned as a commemoration of the 1887 golden jubilee of Queen Victoria.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wXCIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT142 |page=142 |title=Harrogate Through Time |author1=Paul Chrystal |author2=Simon Crossley |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |year=2011 |isbn=9781445628554}}</ref> The original design for this memorial was a drinking fountain "with a pedestal and canopy for a statue". However the design was changed – on the grounds that it "might have been a source of annoyance" – for a memorial and statue only. The site used was originally triangular, but "to give more space for carriage traffic", the site was made circular.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="Leeds Times 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> The memorial was given to Harrogate by Mayor Richard Ellis,<ref name="Mapping" >{{cite web |title=Mapping the practice and profession of sculpture |url=https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1256301512 |website=sculpture.gla.ac.uk |publisher=University of Glasgow History of Art and HATTII |access-date=25 April 2021 |date=2021}}</ref> aided by public subscription of £103 10s. 10d. ({{Inflation|UK|103.5|1887|fmt=eq|r=2|cursign=£}}) raised by The Ladies' Jubilee Committee.{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} 1,604 citizens subscribed, no-one giving more than £1; some giving as little as a penny.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 9 April 1887" >{{cite news |title=Women's Jubilee Offering: final meeting |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002031/18870409/087/0004 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Knaresborough Post |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=9 April 1887 |page=4 col.5}}</ref>

===Laying the foundation stone, 1887===
The [[Engineering:Cornerstone|foundation stone]] for the Jubilee Memorial was laid by Mayor Richard Ellis's wife Mary Jane Ellis ({{circa}}1823–c.1897) on the morning of 14 April 1887,<ref name="Leeds Times 16 April 1887" >{{cite news |title=The Queen's Jubilee: the Mayoress of Harrogate |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000336/18870416/037/0007 |access-date=13 October 2022 |work=Leeds Times |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=16 April 1887 |page=7 col.3}}</ref> in "unusually severe" and snowy weather, but nevertheless "in the presence of a large concourse of spectators". The crowd included the Mayor and Corporation, and a "large number" of women representing part of the Ladies' Jubilee Committee.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> 

Arthur Bown presented the Mayoress with a silver [[Engineering:Trowel|trowel]] and mallet. The inscription on the trowel was:<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> 

<blockquote>Presented to the Mayoress of Harrogate (Mrs Ellis) by the architects and contractor, on the occasion of her laying the corner stone of Her Majesty's Jubilee Memorial, Station Square, Harrogate, April 14th, 1887.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /></blockquote> 

A number of speeches were made, all received with applause and cheers from the crowd. The careful formality of the occasion may be seen in the following exchange, which included wry jokes about the potentially fatal effect of standing for an hour or two in the snow. Bown said:<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" >{{cite news |title=The Mayor's Jubilee Memorial. Laying the foundation stone |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002031/18870416/067/0004 |access-date=13 October 2022 |work=Knaresborough Post |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=16 April 1887 |page=4 cols 4,5}}</ref><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> 

<blockquote>I have great pleasure in presenting you with the trowel and mallet wherewith to lay the stone. I hope you will be living and in good health when the work is completed; so that you may look upon it with pride and pleasure.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /></blockquote>

The Mayoress (who was not at death's door) replied:<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> 

<blockquote>I am greatly obliged to you for the kind expressions, and trust that I shall have the pleasure of seeing the work brought to a satisfactory completion.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /></blockquote>

Mayoress Ellis spoke to the crowd about the way in which the Jubilee Memorial represented their loyalty to the Queen,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Queen's Jubilee Memorial at Harrogate |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000076/18870415/008/0003 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Leeds Mercury |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=15 April 1887 |page=3 col.3}}</ref> ending (to loud cheers) with:<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" /> 

<blockquote>I think this monument will answer [its] purpose. I therefore hope it will be completed in due course, and without any accident to the workmen, and that it will long be to the residents of Harrogate, and the visitors resorting hither, a source of pleasure.<ref name="Knaresborough Post 16 April 1887" /><ref name="PB and NH 16 April 1887" >{{cite news |title=Laying the foundation stone |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001273/18870416/055/0004 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=16 April 1887 |page=4 col.4}}</ref></blockquote>

===Unveiling ceremony, 1887===
The monument was unveiled by the Marquis of Ripon on 6 October 1887.<ref name="Mapping" /> He was met at Harrogate railway station by the mayor and corporation, and was escorted across the road to the ceremony in a grand procession of police, a brass band, the fire brigade, local societies, associations and committees, the [[Social:Magistrate|magistrate]]s, architect Arthur Bown, sculptor (Webber) and contractor, the enrobed mayor and corporation, and officials. The station was adorned with flags, and the monument site encircled by a "dense concourse of spectators", who "loudly cheered" the marquis before being treated to a long speech, which was regularly interrupted with cheers and applause. About a hundred worthies (including Webber) were invited to a dinner at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate. Speeches were made, and healths (including that of Webber and the architect Arthur Bown) were drunk.<ref name="Leeds Mercury 7 October 1887" /> 

===Visit of Prince Albert Victor, 1889===
Prince Albert Victor, grandson of Queen Victoria, visited Harrogate in 1889 to open an extension to the Royal Bath Hospital, Harrogate. For that occasion the Jubilee Memorial was garlanded. It still had its "magnificent iron railings".<ref name="Neesam 2005 Pock Im" >{{cite book |last1=Neesam |first1=Malcolm |title=Harrogate (Pocket Images) |date=2005 |publisher=The History Press Ltd |isbn=9781845881498}}</ref>{{rp|135}}{{Refn|The 1887 iron railings which originally surrounded the monument were likely supplied by architect Arthur Bown's father in law, Batley iron founder John Bagshaw. Bown used Bagshaw's iron work frequently in his designs.|group=nb}}

===Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee, 1897===
The monument was garlanded again on 22 June 1897, in celebration of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. In the morning, when the photograph ''(below)'' was taken, the temperature was {{cvt|76|F|C}} in the shade. There was a procession through the town, while all the church bells rang.<ref name="Neesam 2005 Pock Im" />{{rp|136}}

===Queen Victoria's funeral, 1901===
On the day of Queen Victoria's funeral, 2 February 1901, the licensed victuallers of Harrogate closed their premises until 6 pm and placed a wreath on the Jubilee Memorial,<ref>{{cite news |title=Harrogate |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000076/19010131/103/0006 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Leeds Mercury |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=31 January 1901 |page=6 col.1}}</ref> which was "draped in black and purple". Some societies, and people from the town, added more wreaths there.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harrogate |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002031/19010202/091/0004 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Knaresborough Post |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=2 February 1901 |page=4 col.5}}</ref>

===State visit of the Lord Mayor of London, 1913===
On 7 June 1913, the Jubilee Memorial was garlanded in celebration of the state visit to Harrogate of the Lord Mayor of London, David Burnett. He was to open extensions to the Victoria Baths,<ref name="Leeds Mercury 7 June 1913" >{{cite news |title=Festivities at Harrogate: Today's state visit of the Lord Mayor of London |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000748/19130607/181/0008 |access-date=14 October 2022 |work=Leeds Mercury |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=7 June 1913 |page=8}}</ref> and the Old Sulphur Well (now called the Royal Pump Room). On that day, Burnett brought the state landau with him on the train, and processed in it around the town with the Mayor of Harrogate Joseph Rowntree,{{Refn|This was the Quaker and Liberal politician Joseph Stephenson Rowntree (1875–1951), who was Mayor of Harrogate 1911–1913. He was the son of Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist).|group=nb}} twenty visiting mayors, the Yorkshire Hussars band, and mounted police.<ref name="Neesam 2005 Pock Im" />{{rp|140, 141}}
<gallery mode=packed heights="200px">
Jubilee Memorial Harrogate - laying foundation stone 1887 001a.jpg|The crowd at the laying of the foundation stone, 1887. The [[Engineering:A-frame|A-frame]] supported the [[Engineering:Pulley|pulley]] which lowered the stone.
Prince Albert Victor visits Harrogate 1889 001.jpg|The monument garlanded for Prince Albert Victor's visit, 1889
Harrogate celebrates Victorias Diamond Jubilee 1897 001.jpg|The monument garlanded for Victoria's diamond jubilee, 1897
Jubilee Memorial Harrogate - garlanded (1d).jpg|The monument garlanded for the Lord Mayor of London's visit, 1913
</gallery>

==Reviews==
On 22 March 1888, Prince Albert Victor, grandson of Queen Victoria, visited the monument and "expressed his warm admiration of the likeness" of the statue to his grandmother.<ref>{{cite news |title=Inspection at Harrogate of the Jubilee Memorial |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002031/18880324/069/0005 |access-date=28 October 2021 |work=Knaresborough Post |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=24 March 1888 |page=5 col.2}}</ref>

In 2012 a visitor to Harrogate found the gardens around the monument uncared-for.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hortoris |title=Sorry Harrogate You Smell but Your Flowers Do Not! |url=https://www.godsowncounty.co.uk/villages-and-towns/sorry-harrogate-you-smell-but-your-flowers-do-not/ |website=godsowncounty.co.uk |publisher=God's Own County |access-date=13 October 2022 |date=16 June 2012}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==


[[Category:Victorian era]]

{{Sourceattribution|Jubilee Memorial, Harrogate}}