King Edward VII Memorial
| King Edward VII Memorial | |
|---|---|
The statue in 2013, after restoration
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| Artist | Albert Toft |
| Year | 1913 |
| Medium | Carrara marble |
| Location | Centenary Square, Birmingham, England |
| 52°28′47″N 1°54′25″W / 52.479762°N 1.906906°WCoordinates: 52°28′47″N 1°54′25″W / 52.479762°N 1.906906°W | |
| Owner | Birmingham City Council |
The King Edward VII Memorial is a sculpture in memory of King Edward VII, located in Centenary Square, Birmingham, England.
In 1910, the Birmingham Mail launched an appeal to erect a statue to Edward VII, in order to commemorate his reign. Over £5,000 was quickly raised and an area was allocated within Birmingham Children's Hospital (then located on Ladywood Road near Five Ways) for its location.
Albert Toft was commissioned to craft the statue but the project immediately ran into problems. The statue was to be over six feet tall, making it difficult to find a large enough piece of Carrara marble for its construction. Fortunately, this problem was overcome and the project was well underway through 1912.
The statue was unveiled in Victoria Square on St George's Day, 23 April 1913 by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. It stood next to a statue of Queen Victoria. However, soon afterwards these statues were criticised as being of "ill matched designs". The statue of Edward VII was eventually moved to Highgate Park (at 52°28′09″N 1°52′59″W / 52.46925°N 1.88294°W) when Victoria Square was remodelled in 1951.
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