Statue of Henry Havelock, Trafalgar Square

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Statue of Henry Havelock
Statue of Henry Havelock, October 2014 (15555081947).jpg
The statue in 2014
Statue of Henry Havelock, Trafalgar Square
Artist William Behnes
Medium Bronze sculpture
Subject Henry Havelock
Location London, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′28″N0°07′39″W / 51.5079°N 0.1274°W / 51.5079; -0.1274 Coordinates: 51°30′28″N0°07′39″W / 51.5079°N 0.1274°W / 51.5079; -0.1274

A bronze statue of Henry Havelock by the sculptor William Behnes, [1] stands in Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom. It occupies one of the four plinths in Trafalgar Square, the one to the southeast of Nelson's Column. [2]

Contents

Description and history

The bronze statue depicts Major General Sir Henry Havelock KCB as a standing figure in military uniform, with a cloak. Havelock was born in 1795 and died in 1857. He served in the First Anglo-Burmese War in the 1820s and the First Anglo-Afghan War in the 1840s. He recaptured Cawnpore and Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny in 1857, shortly before he died of dysentery.

The statue was reputedly one of the first statues to be made from a photograph. It was erected by public subscription in 1861, on a granite plinth, matching the statue of General Charles James Napier erected to the west in 1855–1856. [3] A copy in Mowbray Park in Sunderland was also erected by public subscription and unveiled in 1861. [4]

In 1936, it was suggested that the statues of Generals Havelock and Napier in Trafalgar Square should be replaced by statues of Admirals Beatty and Jellicoe, the naval commanders at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but a place was eventually found for bronze busts of the Edwardian admirals (and later for Admiral Cunningham) against the north wall of the square, without removing the statues of the Victorian generals from their plinths.

The monument became a Grade II listed building in 1970. [5] Trafalgar Square is itself Grade I listed.

In 2000, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone suggested that the statues of Havelock and General Charles James Napier should be removed from Trafalgar Square, because he had no idea who they were. [6]

Related Research Articles

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Trafalgar Square is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, established in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemorates his victory at Battle of Trafalgar, the British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson's Column</span> Monument in London dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson

Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during which he lost his life. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian order built from Dartmoor granite. The statue of Nelson was carved from Craigleith sandstone by sculptor Edward Hodges Baily. The four bronze lions around its base, designed by Sir Edwin Landseer, were added in 1867.

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Major-General Sir Henry Havelock was a British general who is particularly associated with India and his recapture of Cawnpore during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

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References

  1. Wheatley, Henry Benjamin; Cunningham, Peter (24 February 2011). London Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions. Cambridge University Press. p. 405. ISBN   9781108028080. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  2. "Statues and fountains". Greater London Authority. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  3. Havelock statue Archived 27 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine , London Remembers
  4. Monument to Major General Sir Henry Havelock, Public Monuments and Sculpture Association
  5. STATUE OF GENERAL SIR HENRY HAVELOCK Archived 7 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine , National Heritage List for England, Historic England
  6. Old statues given marching orders . . . by the Left Archived 27 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine , The Telegraph, 20 October 2000