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larger than life-size bronze statue of Wellington surmounting large grey granite stepped pedestal at the corners of which are four seated symbolic figures. Wellington, dressed in military frock coat with military decoration, is depicted speaking in the House of Lords. A pile of Wellington's published military despatches are placed behind his right foot. Beneath him on the pedestal are four bronze figures seated on projecting pedestals. At the front are the figures of Minerva, representing wisdom, and the helmeted figure of Mars, sword in hand, exemplifying valour. At the rear of the pedestal are two female figures: Victory, holding a wreath of oak leaves and a palm, and Peace, holding a palm, a cornucopia at her feet. Four rectangular bas- reliefs panels refer to Wellington's roles as military commander and statesman. The panel between Peace and Victory depicts the Battle of Assaye, an engagement during Wellington's military service in India. The Battle of Waterloo is the subject of the panel between Minerva and Mars. The outcome of the Duke's military success are represented on the panels between Peace and Minerva where Wellington is shown receiving the thanks of the House of Commons in 1814; the panel between Mars and Victory depicts him at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Although statues of Wellington had been raised during his during his lifetime, the best known being the work by Chantrey, it was only after his death that the country saw a number of memorial schemes initiated. The national memorial was in St Paul's and designed by Alfred Stevens. Manchester was one of the first provincial cities to decide to erect a memorial. Four days after his death a letter in the local press called for a statue of Wellington to be placed in Piccadilly, adding that statues might also be raised honour the Duke of Bridgewater and James Watt. By the end of September Manchester's Wellington Memorial Committee was established and its members, many of whom had been involved in arranging the Peel monument, were beginning to seek subscriptions. The response to the idea of a memorial statue was surprisingly strong in a community in which the Duke had not always been politely received, and where the dominant politics were Liberal. Within a week £3,937 had been collected or promised, a sum that was to increase to some £7,000. The experience of the Peel Committee was evident in determining the commissioning process. A competition was organised, in which invited sculptors were asked to provide no more than two scale models. The sum of £7,000 would be availaible for the memorial, including the pedestal. But unlike the commissioning process for the Peel memorial, it was decided that a small group of judges would be appointed to select the wining design. The judges chosen were the Earl of Ellesmere, the Earl of Wilton and James Prince Lee, Bishop of Manchester; individuals who could be deferred to as connoisseurs. The competition attracted 29 sculptors who submitted 37 models. In November 1853 the trio of judges examined the models placed on display in the Royal Manchester Institution. They selected a standing statue of Wellington by Matthew Noble, a decision subsequently confirmed by the general committee. When the result was made public, controversy erupted. Popular feeling had favoured an equestrian statue, confirming the Duke in his best-known role as a military leader rather than depicting him as an elderly politician. Correspondents writing to the local newspapers were in agreement that the committee had made an inappropriate choice, especially as one of the competition models, an equestrian figure by John Bell, had been regarded as of outstanding quality by visitors to the exhibition. The London art press, which had become increasingly critical of the way in which competition rules were being flouted, expressed surprise that a competition attracting many of the country's leading sculptors had been won by 'an artist of very third-rate power and ability.' Pseudonymous pamphleteers further stirred up the controversy arguing that Manchester was making a mistake, selecting a statue that was both inferior and uninspiring. A sense of art needed to be encouraged in money-making Manchester: This is especially to be desired in a manufacturing community where work and remuneration are daily topics, and are but apt to create sordid desires, narrow views of the expansive powers of the mind, and a repudiation of the unspeakable delights, derived from that keen perception of beauty which is perhaps the highest and most refined enjoyment of which the human is capable.' By January 1854 the recently established Sculptors' Institute entered the debate, asking the Manchester Wellington Committee some pointed questions about the competition. Attention was drawn to the apparently brief time taken by the judges - it was said to have been as little as 20 minutes - to consider the models, and the fact that Noble had submitted three not two models. At the centre of these rumours and allegations was the Bishop of Manchester who, it was further reported, had made it known before the competition that in his mind an equestrian statue was unsuitable, thus excluding 31 of the 37 models. An editorial in the Art Journal focused on the public gossip flowing around Prince Lee: For whether we may, or may not believe that, before a single work in the competition was sent in, the Bishop intended the testimonial to be executed by Mr Noble, and whether it be or be not true that the Bishop had previously intimated his conviction that an equestrian statue would not be selected, - thereby inducing Mr. Noble to send three figures, neither of which was equestrian - little doubt exists in Manchester, and as little among the sculptors who competed - that the "examination" was merely a matter of form, and that Mr Noble was so well assured of the issue, that he might have pointed the marble a month or two before the award was made - while indeed the Right Reverend Prelate was in his atelier, examining the models during their preparation and progress. Prince Lee, who was no stranger to seeking legal redress when publicly attacked, did not respond to these charges. The committee closed ranks, its secretary, Thomas Worthington, skilfully deadbatting the attacks. Noble was to be supported, a new competition would not be held. Noble may only have been a relatively junior sculptor but his reputation was beginning to take root in Lancashire, where the Peel statue mania had resulted in commissions in Liverpool and Salford. The Manchester monument confirmed the promise of these works. Even so the controversy could not be extinguished. In the spring of 1854 a letter signed by 21 Manchester artists and architects called on Bell to return his model to Manchester so that it could be displayed again. But the likelihood of reversing the judges' decision were remote; moreover, Noble was now at work on the commission. The main sculpture was cast at Robinson and Cottam's foundry in Pimlico, London in May 1855. The casting was reported in the Art Journal, whose reporter found them far more impresive than had been anticipated. Noble, who was also completing a marble statue of Wellington for the East India Company's offices, was beginning to be recognised as more than a journeyman sculptor. Small changes in the original design had occurred, reinforcing the idea of Wellington the statesman not just the military hero. The final statue showed Wellington speaking in parliament holding a document rather than a Field Marshal's baton. The treatment of both the subsidiary allegorical figures and the historical incidents recorded in the bronze panels carried further the argument that the Iron Duke's career and reputation had not been solely decided on the battlefields of India and Europe. The final statue showed him speaking in parliament and holding a document rather than a Field Marshal's baton. The treatment of both the subsidiary allegorical figures and the historical incidents recorded in the four bronze panels carried further the argument that the Iron Duke's career and reputation had not been solely decided on the battlefields of India and Europe. The unveiling ceremony in August 1856 was a colourful spectacle attracting a crowd estimated at 100,000. A parade of Waterloo veterans was a feature of the proceedings. After the main speeches and the transfer of the statue into the ownership of the corporation, it was left to the Bishop of Manchester to thank the sculptor for producing this 'noble work - this lesson to posterity.' Understandably no allusion was made to the events of the winter of 1853-54 but these must have been in Prince Lee's mind. Noble and Prince Lee must also have studied the reports on Manchester's Wellington in the metropolitan press in general and in the Art Journal in particular, as they too re-assessed his talents. The Manchester Wellington strengthened Noble's reputation as a rising talent both in Lancashire and nationally. It also confirmed Piccadilly as the city's principal civic space; the installation of two major monuments had transformed the Esplanade into a public space of some distinction.

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington was born in Dublin in 1769, the son of the Earl of Mornington. Following an education that included Eton and a French military school, he was commissioned into the army in 1787. His military talents became evident in India and included the decisive victory at Assaye in 1803. In 1809 he commanded the army in Portugal and Spain which eventually resulted in the defeat and expulsion of the French forces. Many public honours, both British and foreign, followed these military successes. He was created Duke of Wellington in 1814, and in the same year he thanked the House of Commons for their tributes which included a grant of £400,000. In 1815 he commanded the British forces that with Blucher defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. The following years saw him return to continue a political career. He had been first elected as an MP for the seat of Trim in the Irish parliament in 1790 but it was a MP for the constituency of Rye, Sussex (1806-09) that he first held public office. Wellington became prime minister in 1827, following Canning's death, and led the Tory government until he lost office during the reform crisis of the early 1830s. Wellington opposed parliamentary reform. In 1834 he returned to government but served as Foreign Secretary, having recommended Peel as prime minister. He continued to support Peel during the 1840s though after his retirement he played a less obvious part in the nation's affairs. He died at Walmer Castle on 14 September 1852 and was buried with enormous ceremony in St Paul's Cathedral.

circa

raw year

Condition

At risk

Inscriptions

Signatures

Statue

Bronze

396cm high

Pedestal

Granite

579cm high x 400cm square (at base)

Allegorical figures

Bronze

240cm high approx

Reliefs

Bronze

50cm high x 120cm long

Previous treatments

Figure of Wellington lacquered

Metallic staining

On all figures and reliefs

None

Graffiti

Front of pedestal