Statue of John Betjeman
Statue of John Betjeman | |
---|---|
Artist | Martin Jennings |
Completion date | 2007 |
Type | Sculpture |
Medium | Bronze |
Subject | John Betjeman |
Dimensions | 2.10 m (6.9 ft) |
Location | St Pancras railway station, London |
51°31′49″N 0°07′32″W / 51.530278°N 0.125556°W |
The statue of John Betjeman at
Background
John Betjeman
The poet John Betjeman (1906–1984) was an early supporter of Victorian architecture and a founding member of the
George Gilbert Scott
"My eye just now caught the word 'restoration' in the morning papers, and on looking closer, I saw that this time it is nothing less than the Minster of Tewkesbury that is to be destroyed by Sir George Gilbert Scott."
—William Morris on Scott's plans for Tewkesbury Abbey.[11]
On his death in 1878, George Gilbert Scott was accorded a funeral and burial in
St Pancras Station
As reviled as its creator for much of the 20th century, in the 21st, St Pancras was renovated in a multi-million pound, and much admired, restoration.[18][19][20] Its significance is recognised, Simon Bradley describing it as, "this greatest of High Victorian secular buildings"[21] and its Historic England listing suggesting that it may be "Britain's most impressive station",[10] with only the Great Eastern Railway terminus at Liverpool Street station being posited as its rival as, "the largest and handsomest railway-station in England".[22]
The statue
The statue of John Betjeman is by the sculptor
Notes
- ^ The scale of Scott's practice was such that he often had little detailed appreciation of the works that were being produced in his name. David Cole records the, possibly apocryphal, story of Scott arriving late at night in a Midlands town and criticising progress being made on one of his churches, for the clerk of works to reply, "You know Mr Scott, this is not your church, this is Mr Street's; your church is further down the road".[14]
- ^ Turnor perpetuated the myth that Scott reworked his original designs for the Foreign Office, which Palmerston rejected demanding that the building be Classical in design. In fact, although Scott drew on his understanding of French and Italian medieval details, the design for St Pancras was wholly new.[17]
References
- ^ Reporters, Telegraph (19 May 2016). "John Betjeman: A poetic visionary who spoke for England". www.telegraph.co.uk. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ Turnor 1950, p. 111.
- ^ Turnor 1950, p. 91.
- ^ Clark 1983, p. 191.
- ^ Harries 2011, p. 569.
- ^ "Euston Arch begins to fall – archive, 7 November 1961". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "St Pancras faced demolition ball". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "History – St Pancras International". stpancras.com. St Pancras International. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ Betjeman 1995, pp. 319–320.
- ^ a b Historic England. "St Pancras Station and Former Midland Grand Hotel (1342037)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ a b Stamp 2015, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Stamp 2015, pp. 91–92.
- ^ Stamp 2015, p. 7.
- ^ Ferriday 1963, p. 181.
- ^ Curl 1990, pp. 68–72.
- ^ Turnor 1950, p. 85.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner 2002, p. 362.
- ^ Bradley, Simon. "St Pancras Station: A Victorian masterpiece restored to splendour". www.telegraph.co.uk. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ Greeman, Adrian. "St Pancras restored to former glory". constructionnews.co.uk. Construction News. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "The transformation of St Pancras". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ Bradley 2007, p. 9.
- ^ "St. Pancras Station, London". www.victorianweb.org. The Victorian Web. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "Betjeman Sculpture". www.martinjennings.com. Martin Jennings. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ Gowers, Justin (22 October 2007). "A fitting tribute to Betjeman". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ "John Betjeman at St Pancras International". letteringinlondon.com. Lettering in London. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ Higgins, Charlotte (13 November 2007). "Betjeman's daughter unveils St Pancras tribute". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
Sources
- OCLC 468502327.
- Bradley, Simon (2007). St Pancras Station. London: OCLC 70264624.
- Cherry, Bridget; ISBN 9780300096538.
- OCLC 1072302955.
- Cole, David (1978). C. M. Kaufman (ed.). Sir Gilbert Scott (1811–1878): Architect of the Gothic Revival. London: OCLC 931333814.
- Curl, James Stevens (1990). Victorian Architecture. OCLC 185759763.
- Peter Ferriday, ed. (1963). Victorian Architecture. London: OCLC 270335.
- ISBN 9780701168391.
- OCLC 980892536.
- Turnor, Reginald (1950). Nineteenth Century Architecture in Britain. London: OCLC 520344.