Weymouth: Queen Victoria Statue

When I’m visiting the Dorset seaside town of Weymouth, I often walk past this statue of Queen Victoria as it is on the route from my guesthouse to the RSPB Lodmoor Nature Reserve, where I like to go birding almost every day. 

This morning, as I returned from my circuit of Lodmoor, I finally made time to take some photos of the statue. 

It is a grade II listed building / monument that was erected in 1902, in commemoration of Queen Victoria, who had died in January of the previous year.

The Historic England listing describes the monument as being approximately 5 metres high, with a life-size – she was around 151cm tall – bronze statue of the queen set on a 2-metre-square podium made of Portland stone. 

The queen faces south along the Esplanade, with her back to Weymouth’s Church of St John.

The plaque on the podium beneath her on this side reads ‘VICTORIA. D.G. BRITANNIAR (sic) REGINA. FID DEF INDIAE IMP’.

 

As you can hopefully see from my photos, the bronze has survived the intervening years well and looks to be in excellent condition. The stone, and its inscribed plaques, however, are rather weathered, presumably because the monument is quite close to the sea and must often be blasted by inclement weather, particularly during the winter months. 

The inscription on the panel on the back / north side reads:
'This memorial erected by public subscription was unveiled by H. R. H.  Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg) October 20th 1902.
John Bragg - Mayor
Richard Nicholas Howard - Town Clerk.' 

On the east side of the podium the carving represents the Arms of the Borough of Melcombe Regis (shown above), and the western side bears the Royal Arms (below). 

The Historic England listing makes no mention of my favourite part of the statue, the four bronze dolphins, one set at each corner. 

The presence of dolphins in British public art like this monument is usually assumed to represent Britain’s position as a dominant force in global sea power.