Statue of Robert Raikes, London

A statue of Robert Raikes, often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools, executed by the sculptor Thomas Brock, stands in Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, United Kingdom. It was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury on 3 July 1880 and marked the centenary of the opening of the first Sunday school. The critic Edmund Gosse considered the statue to be "as good as anything of the kind we possess in England".[1] In 1958 it was designated a Grade II-listed building.[2]

Robert Raikes
The statue in 2012
ArtistThomas Brock
TypeStatue
MediumBronze
SubjectRobert Raikes
LocationLondon, WC2
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′34″N 0°07′13″W

The front of the plinth reads: ROBERT RAIKES/ FOUNDER OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS/ 1780/ THIS STATUE WAS ERECTED/ UNDER THE DIRECTION/ OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION/ BY CONTRIBUTIONS/ FROM TEACHERS AND SCHOLARS/ OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN GREAT BRITAIN/ JULY 1880. An inscription below the figure's right foot reads: THOS BROCK SCULPT/ LONDON. 1880.[3]

In 1929 replicas of the statue were cast for erection the following year in Gloucester and Toronto, for the 150th anniversary the following year of opening of the first Sunday school.[1]

  • The cast of the statue in Gloucester
  • The cast in Toronto

References
  1. Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, pp. 321–3CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Historic England. "Statue of Robert Raikes (1066179)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  3. "Statue: Robert Raikes statue". London Remembers. Retrieved 24 May 2015.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.