Statue of Queen Victoria

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A larger than life bronze statue of Queen Victoria dating from 1903 by J. Wenlock Rollins. The statue is now located in the centre of the quadrangle formed by the front of the Original Hospital (listed under HB26.32.001 H) and the Musgrave Wing (listed under HB26.32.001 K) in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The large bronze statue faces N to Grosvenor road and depicts Queen Victoria sitting on a throne. Her clothes and jewels are elaborately carved; she is wearing a small openwork frame crown and holding an orb and a sceptre. The throne has segmental top-rail, corbelled stiles, carved splat and carved sphinxes to arms. The statue stands on a square section painted cast concrete plinth.

Setting:
The statue is now located in the centre of the quadrangle formed by the front of the Original Hospital (listed under HB26.32.001 H) and the Musgrave Wing (listed under HB26.32.001 K) in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital. The hospital is located to the corner of Grosvenor and Falls Road and contains a number of listed records including King Edward VII Buildings (HB26.32.001 D), the perimeter wall, gates & lodges (HB26.32.001 F), the front of the Original Hospital (HB26.32.001 H), Mullhouse works (HB26.32.002), Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (HB26.32.001 I), Microbiology building (HB26.32.001 J), the Musgrave Wing (HB26.32.001 K) and the Hospital Building (HB26.32.001 L).

Historical information

In the course of the nineteenth century Belfast expanded at a phenomenal rate. In 1800 its population stood at around 20,000; by 1841 it had reached 70,000. In 1871 it had topped 120,000, while in 1911 it was 385,000, by some way the largest urban population in Ireland. As Belfast’s population rose there was increasing pressure on its medical facilities, especially the Belfast Royal Hospital in Frederick Street. By the end of the 1800s it was clear that a new hospital was needed for Belfast.

The Royal Victoria Hospital, built at the junction of the Grosvenor and Falls Roads, was designed by William Henman of Henman & Cooper who had previously been responsible for the Birmingham General Hospital. McLaughlin & Harvey won the contract to build the new hospital in September 1900. The foundation stone was laid early in 1901 and the new hospital was officially opened on 27 July 1903 by Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on their trip to Belfast during a visit to Ireland.

At the opening of the new hospital in July 1903 a statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled by the Royal visitors. It had been presented to the hospital by the Rt Hon. W. J. Pirrie (later Lord Pirrie, one of the driving forces behind the building of the new hospital). Made of bronze, the statue was originally positioned over the door of the original entrance to the hospital. It is now placed on the ground in front of this entrance.

The sculptor responsible for the statue was J. Wenlock Rollins of Chelsea. Rollins, who was born in Redhill in Surrey, was one of the leading sculptors of his day. He studied at the Birmingham School of Art, the South London Technical School, and at the Royal Academy Schools. In the 1890s he worked on the panels for St George’s Hall in Liverpool, and on the carvings for for Croydon Municipal Buildings. Significantly, as far as his later association with Belfast was concerned, he was responsbile for the Doulton terracotta panels for Birmingham General Hospital of 1896. The architects of this hospital, Henman and Cooper, were to design Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.

In 1901, he exhibited a sketch model of the statue of Queen Victoria at the spring exhibition of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. This was presumably the statue he was in the process of making for the Royal Victoria Hospital.

References

Northern Ireland Environment Agency
First Survey record – HB/01/03/019
HB Records – HB/01/03/019

Published sources
M. H. Spielmann, British sculpture and sculptors of today (London, 1901)
R. S. J. Clarke, The Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast: a history, 1797-1997 (Belfast, 1997)

Online sources
www.victorianweb.org/sculpture/rollins/index.html

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity
V. Authorship
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

A larger than life bronze statue of Queen Victoria dating from 1903 by J. Wenlock Rollins, elaborately carved. The statue was part of the front of the Original Hospital ( HB26.32.001 H), located above the door of the porch, but is now located in the centre of the quadrangle formed by the front of this building and the Musgrave Wing ( HB26.32.001 K) in the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Although sited in a different location within the quadrangle, which is now utilized as parking, this is an impressive sculpture which has group value with the other listed structures in the Royal Victoria Hospital complex.