Monument

Victoria's column

Erection date: 19/10/1904

Inscription

{On the north facing plinth, a bronze plaque:}
In memory of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, born in Kensington Palace, 24th May 1819, this column was erected by the inhabitants of the Royal Borough of Kensington, 1904.
Lewis H. Isaacs - Mayor
W. Chambers Leete - Town Clerk
H. L. Florence - architect

{On the ornate band (annulet) halfway up the pillar, behind the relief bust:}
Victoria Queen and Empress

Unveiled by Princess Louise, and her husband the Duke of Argyll in 1904 in Kensington High Street, opposite St Mary Abbots Church, close to where the war memorial now is. The ever-interesting Library Time Machine has a photo (end of the page) of the column in this location. Moved to current location 1934.

One can see why Mr Leete preferred using his middle name in full rather than just the initial. Florence, who was in partnership with Isaacs, designed the work at no cost. Brindley sculpted the work and his firm, Farmer & Brindley, erected it.

There are not many memorials raised to Victoria in commemoration after her death. This is because there were plans for a national memorial (the statue outside Buckingham Palace) so local memorials were not encouraged. Many of the statues, busts, etc. for Queen Victoria were erected during her lifetime, often celebrating her jubilees. The 1903 statue in Croydon is probably another example of a local memorial to the recently deceased monarch.

Site: Queen Victoria's column and water trough (2 memorials)

W14, Warwick Gardens

The RBKC pdf gives: "The widening of the High Street in 1934 necessitated the removal of the column from its original site {and the trough from a different original site} to the northern end of Warwick Gardens. The space was originally intended to be the centre of a garden square until the plans were changed to give access to Pembroke Road."

What are all these palm trees doing at this corner? We counted four, including the massive one which is obscuring the column. It meant we had no chance of getting a photo of the relief bust on the north side, so we are grateful that someone managed it and put it on Pinterest.

The (not great) 1955 film The Gilded Cage has a short shot of this monument before the palms arrived, and showing the nice houses that used to be on Kensington High Street at this junction before the large blocks of flats arrived. And the wonderful ReelStreets has the image.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Victoria's column

Subjects commemorated i

Queen Victoria

Reigned: 1837-1901, 64 years. Born Kensington Palace. Daughter of Edward, Duk...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Victoria's column

Created by i

Farmer & Brindley

Firm of sculptors. Founded by William Farmer (1825-1879) and William Brindley...

Read More

Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll

Born at Buckingham Palace, sixth child of Queen Victoria. Was a talented scul...

Read More

William Brindley

Sculptor and carver. Born Derbyshire. Worked with William Farmer. Died Hampsh...

Read More

W. Chambers-Leete

Town Clerk of the Royal Borough of Kensington, 1904 - 1916, at least. Kensin...

Read More

H. L. Florence

Architect, Born Henry Louis Florence. 1875 he is credited with Stourbridge &a...

Read More

Show all 6

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Victoria's column

Also at this site i

Water trough - R. McC.

Water trough - R. McC.

From the RBKC pdf: "This trough was originally erected in 1900 in Kensington ...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

St Nicholas war memorial

St Nicholas war memorial

W4, Church Street, St Nicholas church

The "grant them...." phrase comes from a Roman Catholic prayer.

2 subjects commemorated
Waltham Forest Town Hall war memorial

Waltham Forest Town Hall war memorial

E17, Forest Road

The expression "our glorious dead" suggests that this memorial was raised to the dead in the armed forces only and not to any civilian dead.

War dead | Other war
4 subjects commemorated
J. Lyons war memorial - WW1

J. Lyons war memorial - WW1

W6, Margravine Gardens, Hammersmith Cemetery

Possibly the granite trough added to the foot is intended to hold wreaths etc. The only name out of sequence is T. Warman, which is at t...

War dead | WW1
230 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Sivas martyrs

Sivas martyrs

N16, Stoke Newington Common

This area has a large Turkish community. From Architectural Memorialization at Turkey’s › Witness Sites ‹: The Case of the Madimak Hotel...

37 subjects commemorated
Eagle Squadrons

Eagle Squadrons

W1, Grosvenor Square

{On the front of the pillar, facing north, into the square, below a carved image with "E. S." and a spread eagle clutching arrows in its ...

War dead, War served | WW2, Other war
291 subjects commemorated, 3 creators

Previously viewed

David Hockney

David Hockney

Artist.  Born Bradford.  Lived in California for many years.  Passionately anti-anti-smoking, like fellow artist Maggie Hambling.

Person, Art, Seriously Famous, USA

2 memorials
Herbert H. Twining

Herbert H. Twining

Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of St Clement Danes Parish in 1897.

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
William Brannan Collins

William Brannan Collins

Housing developer. Son of William Jefferies Collins. He and his brother Herbert designed the Rookfield Garden Estate - see there for more information. Local History has an 1975 interview with 'Bil...

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Virtues - Anrep

Virtues - Anrep

WC2, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery - Staircase Hall - North Vestibule

Carved at the top of the gravestone is a portrait of Anrep himself. The image below, on the left shows a few mosaic tesserae and the spec...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators