Where in the world are you: Queen Victoria

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About Where in the world are you: Queen Victoria

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901. Her reign lasted 63 years, longer than that of any other British monarch.

Undoubtedly she remains the most commemorated British monarch in history, with statues to her erected throughout the United Kingdom, The Commonwealth and former British Empire territories.

Statues of Queen Victoria range from the grand to the obscure. Examples being the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace, which was erected as part of the remodeling of the façade of Buckingham Palace shortly after her death, and on a lesser scale a bust of the Queen presides - rather sadly - over a small park where goats [apparently] graze around her, in the town of Cape Coast, Ghana.

With political correctness and post-colonial sensitivities, history has in parts witnessed the removal of Victoria's legacy and name. For instance, the statue of Queen Victoria sculpted by Irishman John Hughes erected in front of Leinster House in Dublin in 1924, was removed in 1947 after years of criticism that it was inappropriate to have the British Queen's likeness stand in front of the parliament of the Irish Free State. After years in storage the statue was given by the Republic of Ireland to Australia and re-commemorated in December 1987 to stand outside the Queen Victoria Building in the centre of Sydney.

So where where in the world are you Queen Victoria? Amazingly, it is exceedingly difficult to locate by using any definable, authoritative list. But here are just a few of the many hundreds (one suspects):

A statue by Joseph Boehm stands on College Green, Bristol, England.
A statue is also found in Queens Gardens, Brisbane.
Another as a part of The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India.
The Statue of Queen Victoria stands in Cubban Park in Bangalore, India.
A statue stands in Victoria Square, Christchurch, New Zealand.
A statue is located outside the Worcester Crown Court in Foregate Street, West Midlands, England.
A statue is located at St Nicholas Square, Newcastle, England.

One thing is for sure, statues, monuments and busts turn up in the most unlikeliest places!

The statue of Queen Victoria in Victoria Square, Birmingham, United Kingdom is by Thomas Brock and was unveiled in January 1901, just under a fortnight before her death. The original statue was marble. In 1951 (to mark the Festival of Britain) a bronze cast was made. In 1992 this was taken away to be cleaned, returning in April 1993 as the refurbishment of the Square was nearing completion.

The aim of this flickr pool is to locate, photograph and record in as much detail all monuments, statues & civic busts of Queen Victoria found worldwide. The photographs can be as historically detailed or as family friendly as you would wish them to be; they should naturally not offend the sensibilities of the wider-world community and will of course be subject to moderation if this is found to be necessary. The essential part of the Project is to record the monuments and to place them within their immediate environment as seen by the photographer. At another level, the aim is to chronicle the design, form, erection (either by private or public subscription) and condition, in the broader context of the communities whom they once served, or continue to serve. Towards this end, building up a picture of the recent local history and to what relevance or purpose the monuments have today might be of huge interest to later generations.

If you were on holiday and suddenly had come across Queen Victoria, explaining how you felt or perhaps what you were doing, (or whom you were with), at the time of the photograph adds enormous wealth, enjoyment & understanding to the need for civic monuments. Equally, if the statue appears ugly, not liked, defaced by graffiti, neglected, abandoned or unkempt then say so and show it as it is. There is no limit to the number of photographs that can be posted. Nor should flickr members be put off by the fact that "better quality", stylized views have been posted at an earlier date. Enhanced photographs providing unconventional angles, extra atmosphere, inclement weather or colour manipulation, (even black & white), would be most welcomed.

Thanking you in anticipation of your help.