Peel Memorial, Bury
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| Artist | Edward Hodges Baily |
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| Year | 1851 |
| Location | Bury |
The Peel Memorial is a public statue by Edward Hodges Baily, a nineteenth-century British artist best known for his sculpture of Nelson on Nelson's Column. It is located in the centre of Bury, Greater Manchester. The statue commemorates the life of Sir Robert Peel, twice UK Prime Minister and founder of the British Conservative Party, who was born in Bury.
The statue is of bronze, and stands 3.5m high. Peel is depicted in contemporary dress, "addressing the House of Commons on the memorable subject of Free Trade"
The statue is mounted on a granite pedestal 3.66m high. The front of the pedestal bears the Peel family coat of arms and the word "Peel" in bronze capital letters. On the left and right sides are bronze bas-reliefs representing Commerce and Navigation. On the back of the pedestal is a circular bronze panel containing a quotation from one of Peel's speeches.
The statue was originally surrounded by an iron railing with gas lights at each corner, although this was later removed.
The inscription on the back of the pedestal contains the words "IT MAY BE, / I SHALL LEAVE A NAME / SOMETIMES REMEMBERED / WITH EXPRESSIONS OF GOOD WILL / IN THE ABODE OF THOSE WHOSE LOT / IT IS TO LABOR, AND TO EARN THEIR / DAILY BREAD BY THE SWEAT OF / THEIR BROW - WHEN THEY SHALL / RECRUIT THEIR EXHAUSTED STRENGTH / WITH ABUNDANT AND UNTAXED FOOD / THE SWEETER, BECAUSE IT IS / NO LONGER LEAVENED BY A / SENSE OF INJUSTICE" This is a quotation from Peel's speech to the House of Commons upon resigning as Prime Minister on 29 June 1846.
On Wednesday 10 July 1850, eight days after Peel's sudden and unexpected death, a public meeting in the court house at Bury Town Hall resolved that "a monument be erected in some central part of the town as a perpetual memorial of our eminent townsman."
A Testimonial Committee was appointed to erect the memorial, and subscriptions were invited to raise funds for it. Eventually a sum of £2,700 was collected, of which £2,500 was to be spent on the memorial, with the remainder covering expenses. Nearly 2,000 individuals contributed, with subscriptions varying from £200 given by Mr Thomas Norris of Preston, to 1d donated by Miss Rachel Knowles.
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