Queen Victoria to get a makeover after decades of weathering
THE iconic Birmingham statue of Queen Victoria is to get a makeover.
Thomas Brock’s original marble statue was first unveiled in Victoria Square just 12 days before Queen Victoria’s death in 1901.
It was then recast in bronze by William Bloye in 1951.
Although the artwork has been deemed ready for important conservation work, it will not remove the green patina which has formed on the statue over time.
The statue will be covered by barriers towards the end of April, with completion due in the week beginning May 14.
Part-funded by the Birmingham Civic Society, Queen Victoria will be looked after by conservation specialist Ian Clark Restoration.
In November 2017, The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a £55,700 grant towards the ‘The City Beautiful’ project to celebrate and commemorate the centenary of the Society.
The civic society champions civic pride and has worked tirelessly to try to make Birmingham a better place for its citizens, visitors and workforce. It encourages the highest standards of planning and architecture, and helps create a better environment.
In the 1920s and 30s it raised significant funds to purchase and donate substantial areas of land to the city’s public parks.
Later on, the society was instru- mental in preserving a number of familiar Birmingham statues, most notably those of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, Joseph Sturge and Joseph Priestley. It was thanks to the society that Birmingham Cathedral’s world-famous BurneJones windows were removed into safe storage at the outbreak of the Second World War. The cathedral was subsequently badly damaged by bombing during the Birmingham Blitz, so without the society’s intervention these works of art would have been lost forever. The latest project has also been supported by the Limoges Charitable Trust.