Starting statues

It started with an article in The Week Junior magazine heralding the unveiling of Dorset’s Mary Anning Statue. https://www.maryanningrocks.co.uk/press. A sidebar stated, ‘In the UK, there are 82 statues of men named John and just 128 of named women’.

Only 128?? I could visit all of them! But initial enthusiasm for a new project soon turned to dissatisfaction. There were so few women statues that it was, in actual fact, feasible to visit them all.
So who are the 128 immortalised women? What does it take for a woman to get a statue of herself? Money? Influence? Passion for a cause?
I’m ashamed to say I was struggling to recognise some of the names when I started the research, but that was all part of the journey – learning more about women that have played a special part in our history.

So I have given myself a year to visit all of them to give them the recognition they deserve and to learn more about these special women.
The start date is 29th July 2022. Please join me on this journey! Who knows, hopefully by the end of July 2023, the number of named women statues may be more than 128…..

The keen eyed amongst you will know that the above picture is nothing to do with Mary Anning. It is pilot Amy Johnson who I visited in Hull. I love her gaze and besides, I’ve yet to meet Mary Anning…

https://www.instagram.com/womenstatuesuk/

Flora Macdonald

(1722-1790)

Flora’s legacy stands as the woman who helped ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ escape Scotland.  Prince Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of King James II of England had led the second Jacobite Uprising of 1745 to overthrow King George II.  However, after the Jacobites were defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Charles spent two months in exile before arriving at the island of South Uist where he met Flora.  Flora was an unlikely accomplice – both her step-father and her fiancée Allan MacDonald were in the Hanovarian army of King George II, but, after initial reluctance, she agreed to help Charles escape.  Due to her connections, she was able to arrange travel, taking Charles disguised as an Irish spinning maid called Betty Burke as well as two servants and a small crew.  They sailed to Skye, where Charles continued his escape securing a passage to France.

I’m aware from my scant research before arriving at Flora that there is renovation work and access is, naturally, denied.  But I’m in Scotland when I’m in Scotland (April 2025).  Things could be worse.  Along with the castle renovation, Flora herself is getting a clean-up (well, she is 126 years old) which, in weeks of the visit, means she will be scaffolded and covered.

I ponder donning a high vis and hard hat but seeing as I own neither I opt for a poorly executed photo from the entrance.  I like the way her pose looks like she is surveying the workers.  Maybe they feel her gaze as they crack on with the clean up. 

Elizabeth Grant

(1842-1925)

As visiting places go there are certainly worse places than a Scottish Distillery.

Founded in 1887, with the first drop of drink produced on Christmas Day, William Grant, along with his wife Elizabeth set out to make the best dram in the valley.  Nearly 140 years later the company is still run by the founding family, now in its fifth generation of distillers.

A search online reveals little about Elizabeth herself – we know that she gave birth to around 9 children and was involved in the founding of the distillery, but little else is captured.  Still, her recognition in the life size sculpture which welcomes visitors to the site is to be applauded when so little women at the time had any recognition for their part in history.

Mary Slessor

(1848-1915)

As statues, or even sculptures go, Dundee’s memorial is bending the remit.  Still, it’s on the PSSAUK.org website so I am duty bound etc…It also gives me the chance to visit the statue of Minnie the Minx in the city square, she’s a fictional character but has her own spirit!

Born in Aberdeen and raised in Dundee, Mary’s start in life was a difficult one.  Her father was an alcoholic and as soon as she could work (at a very young age then) she did 12 hour days at a jute mill to support the family.  Her faith was led by her mother and Mary dreamed of following in explorer David Livingstone’s footsteps, travelling the world while spreading the word of God.

Being a Missionary can be tainted with negative connotations – the stereotype of a white do-gooder ‘rescuing’ Africans.  Mary would indeed have taken up her post with every bit of the Victorian values of the time.  Nonetheless, on commencing her work it became clear that Mary’s intentions came from love and duty for humankind and she worked tirelessly to change and indeed save lives, learning the language, traditions and eating and living locally (spurning the missionary residence itself) all the while sending her wages home to support her family. 

Did she convert many to Christianity?  Probably not.  Her premise was on improving people’s lives. There was much work for her around breaking old superstitions.  It was believed at the time in the local area that twins were bad luck, with one of them being evil.  Without knowing which twin would be ‘evil’ they were often abandoned or killed and their mother banished.  Mary saved hundred of twins who had been left to die adopting 9 children throughout her 40 years there.

The memorial was unveiled in 2015 to mark 100th anniversary of her death. Outside Dundee a bust of Mary is displayed at the fabulous Wallace Monument in Stirling.

Jackie Crookston

(1768-1797)

As with so many accounts of history, the truth, particularly that of women, and most definitely of poor women is unclear and largely undocumented.  The fact that Jackie’s story (partly or wholly true) is discovered at all gives weight to her involvement in the events at the Tranent Massacre.

Weakened by conflict in Europe, the British Army, under the Militia Act, sought to forcefully conscript 6000 Scottish men to serve.  Men were to be chosen by ballot and troops were deployed to enforce consignment in Scotland.  This was met with resistance from many places across the land, not least because most places relied heavily on workers to farm land for food and work mines for coal without them families and the community faced a crippling prospect of not enough food or coal to cook or stay warm.  Tranent was one such place and the residents drew up a statement in opposition to the draft but to no avail.  When soldiers reached the town, residents had organised peaceful protests, marching through the streets.  Jackie was said to be part of the opposition, banging a drum and chanting, ‘nae militia’.  Despite accounts of peaceful protest, scenes turned with soldiers slaying what was reported as at least 12 people, but likely to be more, with many people injured.  As for Jackie, it was said her body was found in a corn field weeks after the massacre.  No one was prosecuted or held accountable for the deaths.

The statue serves as a memorial to the people killed in the Tranent Massacre of 1797, depicting Jackie with a look of determination, drum at the ready.  In stone the words, ‘nae militia’ are inscribed.

Lady Annie Jerningham

(1850-1902)

Philanthropist Annie was first married to Charles Mather, who bequeathed her a modest fortune and Longridge Towers in Berwick (now a private school).  Her second husband Sir Hubert Jerningham was Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Berwick (1881-1885) Annie’s health began to suffer while living in Trinidad and Tobago as her second husband was colonial governor there between 1897 and 1900.  Upton returning to the UK she never fully recovered and died in 1902 aged 52.

Hubert designed this memorial to her with the help of sculptor Walter Rowlands Ingram who died soon after in 1903.  The statue was unveiled in 1908.  The Berwick site was chosen where, at certain times of year, it could just about be seen from the Longridge Towers, four kilometres to the south west.

I find little other information on Annie, but a quick online search reveals an Rowlands Ingram bust of Annie for sale around the £5k mark on a certain auction site.  100% positive reviews apparently.

Anne Lister

(1791-1840)

Often dubbed the first ‘modern lesbian’, Anne was born into a wealthy landowning family and grew up in East Yorkshire, moving to Shibden Hall in Halifax in 1815 with her Aunt and Uncle.

Also known under the pseudonym, ‘Gentleman Jack’, she was often dressed in ‘male’ attire, defying gender norms throughout her life.  Anne and her partner Ann Walker considered themselves married with their bond recognised by many as the first same sex marriage.

A prolific diarist and travel writer, upon her death in 1840 she left 26 volumes of diaries and 14 volumes of travel notes, some of which written in code.  The coded sections (what Anne called her crypt-hand) used a letter replacement code in which individual letters were replaced by symbols.  In this way Anne could keep some of her writing secret, including her relationships with other women.

Upon her Uncle’s death in 1836 she inherited the Shibden Hall estate.  She supervised building work, dealt with the business of farming and developed coal mining on her land, during the development of the Thames Tunnel she wrote about her ideas on using similar methods of excavation for her own mining business.

As her travel notes show, Anne travelled extensively, until in 1839 she caught a fatal fever, believed to be from an insect bite, and died in Georgia.

If 26 volumes of coded diaries aren’t for you, her story is depicted in the TV BBC drama, Gentlemen Jack which ran for 3 years from 2019.

She was laid to rest at the Halifax Minster and an Anne Lister Festival is held each year in the town around her birthday in early April.

Nell Gwynn

(1650 – 1687)

Nell Gwynn stands at – yep – Nell Gwynn House.  She greets the residents from above the impressive entrance; her elevated status making a great photo challenging.

But, let’s talk property.  A search online reveals plenty of rooms at Nell Gwynn House on Booking.com for around the £300 mark per night.  Ouch.  The building is art deco in design (in the shape of a ‘w’ to maximise light) built in 1937.  In fairness, the accommodation photos online are stunning.

Gwynn was a celebrated comedy actress during the Restoration period and one of the first professional women on stage (before this women were invariably played by boys or young men).  By most accounts, hers is a ‘rags to riches’ story.  First employed as an orange-girl in Drury Lane Theatre, she is described as spirited, good humoured and an excellent singer and dancer, no doubt helping her transition onto stage in 1665.

Despite this she is probably more famously known as the mistress of King Charles II with their relationship sparking around 1668. From then her life became somewhat more opulent with her choice of partner.  They had two children and remained a couple until the King’s passing in 1685 with his deathbed plea to his brother, the future King James II: “Let not poor Nelly starve.”  King James kept his word and Nelly survived King Charles by two years.

Elisabeth Frink

(1930-1993)

Back in Harlow.

With no great offence to Harlow, I wasn’t planning to re-visit the town.  But seeing it in daylight as opposed to the December early night is a better way to enjoy the space.  What I didn’t pick up on last year, was that it held the title of the world’s first ‘Sculpture Town’ in 2010 and a large abstract piece along the dual carriageway welcomes me into the place.

My visit around Christmas last year saw me proudly ticking off 5 statues only to realise somewhere north on the M1 and around 200 miles away that I had missed one off the list.

No big deal, I guess.  There’s a statue to a woman named Julia to see at the Harlow Playhouse – a replica had been previously viewed last year, tucked away in a quiet in a cul-de-sac.  Yes, it is a named statue although fictional but I’m in Harlow and it’s rude not to.  I pass by the water gardens where Elisabeth Frink’s ‘Boar’ stands, floating above the water.  Nearby there is ‘Eve’ by Rodin.  Auguste Rodin!  In Harlow!  There’s also ‘Kora’ – a fictional female statue tucked away on the high street.

But enough digression.  I can’t miss this one again.

Sculptor and printmaker, Elisabeth had early success, selling work to the Tate Gallery when she was still a 21 year-old student at Chelsea College of Art.  Much of her work features animals, male nudes and nature, with her last work being the ‘Risen Christ’ for Liverpool Cathedral installed a week before she died in 1993.

Elisabeth already stands tall outside Coventry’s Herbert Gallery but the original cast is a grade II listed piece purchased by Harlow Art Trust soon after it was created.  I check the sites, use Google maps, but am struggling to find it.  I flag down a couple who seem slightly embarrassed (in the way that only Brits can be) when they cannot help locate it.  But they needn’t be.  I return to where I think it should be and there I spot it.  Or at least I spot the spot.  A traffic cone perched on an empty plinth (another quintessentially British gesture).  There’s no mistaking that this is where she should be.  Frustrating.  But is it art?

Bronte Sisters

Charlotte (1816–1848)
Emily (1818-1848)
Anne (1820-1849)

Haworth in West Yorkshire was home to the Bronte family and their place is now a museum.  Originally the Parsonage (with cemetery adjacent) the four children (or at least those that survived a time) grew up here.  Although brother Bramwell (1817-1848) wrote, it was his sisters Charlotte (1816 – 1848) author of Jayne Eyre, Emily (1818-1848) author of Wuthering Heights and Anne (1820-1849) author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall who are most revered for their writing, although early works used androgynous pseudonyms until their careers were established.  Perhaps it isn’t so much that Bramwell’s writing was bad, it was just that his sisters’ works were absolutely smashing it.

The Bronte Sisters statue was created in 1951 by local Halifax lass Jocelyn Horner.  Born in 1902 she studied alongside the infamous Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.  Created in bronze it stands in the side garden of the museum near a self-portrait carving of Bramwell.

Alice Nutter

( ? – 1612)

I’ve been holding off local statues for a while.  I’ve somehow figured I could keep them aside for a ‘rainy day’. Keep them in the back pocket and pull them out when needing a fall back and I can’t travel far.  But I’ve still got some way to go to complete and so, while travelling west, it seems the perfect time.

Alice Nutter was immortalised in 2012 as a statue near Roughlee village where she came from.  Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the infamous witch trials she is perhaps the best known woman who lost her life.  Widow of a tenant yeoman father, she was fairly wealthy, which set her apart from other suspects.  She made no plea other than to state she was not guilty and was subsequently hanged, with seven other women and two men in Lancaster, August 1612.

Situated on Blacko Bar Road between Crowtrees and Roughlee she was designed and created by local artist and architectural steel engineer David Palmer of DP Structures Ltd – see also Nelson’s Shuttle in, yep you’ve guessed it – Nelson. I drive slowly along the road to ensure I don’t miss it, but it easily spotted on the roadside standing beautifully with a demure gaze.  I am lucky to arrive when someone has thoughtfully placed a posy in her hand, giving her a humane touch and a hint of spring to come.