Buxton Memorial Fountain
The Buxton Memorial Fountain is a memorial and drinking fountain in London, the United Kingdom, that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, and in particular, the role of British parliamentarians in the abolition campaign.[1]
It was commissioned by
It was originally constructed in Parliament Square, erected at a cost of £1,200. As part of the postwar redesign of the square it was removed in 1949 and not reinstated in its present position in Victoria Tower Gardens until 1957.[4] There were eight decorative figures of British rulers on it, but four were stolen in 1960 and four in 1971. They were replaced by fibreglass figures in 1980. By 2005 these were missing, and the fountain was no longer working. Between autumn 2006 and February 2007 restoration works were carried out. The restored fountain was unveiled on 27 March 2007 as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the act to abolish the slave trade.[5]
A memorial plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Anti-Slavery Society was added in 1989.
Description
The base is octagonal, about twelve feet in diameter, having open arches on the eight sides, supported on clustered shafts of polished Devonshire marble around a large central shaft, with four massive granite basins. Surmounting the pinnacles at the angles of the octagon are eight figures of bronze, representing the different rulers of England; the
References
- ^ "Buxton Memorial Fountain: 30 Nov 1955: House of Commons debates, HC Deb, 30 November 1955, c2445". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b Westminster – King St, Great George St and the Broad Sanctuary in Old and New London: Volume 4 (1878), pp. 26–35, from British History Online
- ^ Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, vol. 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 375
- ^ Listing of 18 historic buildings amended to highlight their links to the abolition of slavery Archived 2009-09-29 at the Wayback Machine DCMS/English Heritage Press Release 20 December 2007
- ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Protest disrupts slavery service
- Margaret Baker, London Statues and Monuments. ISBN 0-7478-0162-2.
External links
- Media related to Buxton Memorial Fountain at Wikimedia Commons