Sir Edward Harland Memorial

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Statue in white Sicilian marble erected c.1903 to designs by Thomas Brock in front of the City Hall, on a tall square grey granite plinth with moulded cornice, depicting the shipbuilder and politician Sir Edward Harland standing in his frock coat beside a stand bearing plans and with his hand on the model of a ship's hull. There is an inscription on the front face.

Setting

This is one of a number of memorials (HB26/50/001B-001E and HB26/50/001G-001J) in lawned grounds surrounding the City Hall (HB26/50/001A). Many of the buildings around Donegall Square are also similar in date, contributing to the context of this structure.

Pedestal: Grey granite
Statue: Sicilian marble

Historical information

Unveiled in 1903 and executed by leading sculptor of the day, Sir Thomas Brock, this statue commemorates the shipbuilder and politician, Sir Edward James Harland who died in 1895.

Harland was born in Scarborough but came to Belfast in 1854 to manage Robert Hickson’s shipyard. By 1861 he had purchased the shipyard and was the head and founder of the shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff. With rapid expansion of the firm and the industry over the following three decades, Harland and Wolff greatly improved the wealth and prosperity of Belfast. Knighted in 1885, Harland was also elected MP for North Belfast and served as Lord Mayor in 1885-6 (ODNB; Larmour).

The memorial was financed through subscription from a fund of approximately £1,000 and was unveiled on 23rd June 1903 by the Earl of Glasgow, President of the Institute of Naval Architects. Designed by the London based sculptor Sir Thomas Brock, the statue in white Sicilian marble depicts Harland standing, with a hand resting on a model of a ship, surmounting a pedestal of grey granite (Patton; McIntosh).

Becoming the founding president of the Society of British Sculptors in 1905, Brock was one of the country’s leading sculptors of the time and his work was highly influential (ODNB). Well known for his many statues of Queen Victoria, Brock also executed the Victoria Monument in the grounds of the City Hall (HB26/50/001A), which was also unveiled in 1903, and the Titanic Monument (HB26/50/001E) in 1920.

Larmour writing in 2010, comments that Harland’s statue was the first to be erected in the grounds of the City Hall, which highlights the significant impact which Harland and Wolff had on the development of Belfast. Originally located to the east of the central statue of Queen Victoria (HB26/50/001I), the Harland Monument has since been moved to a position further eastward. Separated by a path, it stands next to the statue of Sir James Haslett (HB26/50/001J), which was designed in 1906-9 by Frederick Pomeroy, to harmonise with Thomas Brock’s design of the Harland Memorial (McIntosh). Cleaning and repair work was carried out to the memorial between 1992-93 (HB File).

References:

Primary Sources

1. National Library of Ireland, EAS_0395 “City Hall Belfast” (1900-40) The Eason Photographic Collection
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/EAS_0395
2. HB File (HB26/50/001F)

Secondary Sources

1. Larmour, P “Belfast City Hall- An Architectural History” UAHS (2010)
2. McIntosh, Gillian “Belfast City Hall One Hundred Years” Belfast City Council (2006)
3. Patton, Marcus “Central Belfast- An Historical Gazetteer” UAHS, Belfast (1993)
4. www.dia.ie - Dictionary of Irish Architects online
5. (ODNB) “Oxford Dictionary of National Biography” Oxford University Press, (2004-12)
http://www.oxforddnb.com/

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A formal marble statue of the shipbuilder and politician Sir Edward Harland, one of four similar statues of former Lord Mayors erected in the City Hall grounds in 1903, shortly after completion of the main building. Sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock, who was one of the country’s leading sculptors at that time, it forms one of a group of high quality memorials (HB26/50/001B-J) in the grounds of the City Hall (HB26/50/001A). Brock was aslo the sculptor of the Titanic memorial (HB26/50/001E). There are four similar standing statues of Lord Mayors facing Donegall Place, contributing to the historical significance of the group. This is a fine example of the work of a notable sculptor representing Belfast's civic history.

General comments

Formerly HB26/50/007