Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial

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The monument in 2015

The Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial is a memorial in London dedicated to Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel , the two leading British suffragettes . It stands at the entrance to the "Victoria Tower Gardens", which are located south of the "Victoria Tower" on the south-west corner of the Palace of Westminster . Most striking about it is the bronze statue of Emmeline Pankhurst created by Arthur George Walker and unveiled in 1930. In 1958 the statue was moved to its current location and bronze reliefs were added to commemorate Christabel Pankhurst and the WSPU.

The original reveal

The unveiling of the statue in 1930
The statue from 1930

Shortly after Emmeline Pankhurst's death in 1928, a Pankhurst Memorial Fund was set up by her fellow suffragettes Rosamund Massey and Katherine "Kitty" Marshall (Pankhurst's former bodyguard in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)) as the two secretaries. The purpose of the fund was to erect a funerary memorial, acquire Georgina Brakenbury's portrait of Pankhurst, and erect a statue in public spaces. Some observers, such as Nancy Astor, believed that the idea of ​​a statue was inappropriate because Pankhurst himself did not believe it was suitable for a statue. Furthermore, there are barren times for the British, which would put tight financial limits on the project. In reality, raising the money, which was mainly organized by the editor of The Suffragette , Rachel Barrett, was not the problem; the real problem was finding a location.

Although the Chief Commissioner of Public Works, Sir Lionel Earle, was benevolent of the case, he believed it would be impractical to place the statue in Westminster. After several sites had been discarded, Marshall was given permission to erect the statue in a corner of Victoria Tower Gardens, near the Houses of Parliament . Although this required a special parliamentary act, Conservative MP William Bull ensured it was passed quickly.

A bronze statue of Emmeline Pankhurst was created by Arthur George Walker; she stretches out her arms as if to address a assembled crowd. Sir Herbert Baker was the architect of the plinth. The fund covered the costs of the pedestal and the statue, and also paid 160 pounds to the Ministry of Works for future maintenance costs and a further 330 pounds for the permanent installation of a flower bowl near the monument.

The monument was unveiled on March 6, 1930 by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin . Marshall had two platforms built near the statue, one for the speakers, Baldwin, Lady Rhondda and Fred Pethick-Lawrence, and the other for a festival band. Loudspeakers were set up and the pedestals decorated with the colors of the WSPU.

In Baldwin's speech it was said: “I say with no fear of contradiction, that whatever view posterity may take, Mrs. Pankhurst has won for herself a niche in the Temple of Fame which will last for all time.” (German: Ich say this, without fear of contradiction, that whatever you may think in the future, Mrs. Pankhurst has found a niche for herself in the temple of glory that will last forever. ) Composer Ethel Smyth , a close friend of Pankhurst , conducted the Metropolitan Police band during the unveiling ceremony, played an arrangement of their song The March of the Women and music from their opera The Wreckers . The March of the Women was the anthem of the women's suffrage movement.

Relocation of the monument in 1958

In 1958 the memorial was moved from its original location in the south of the garden to a new location further north; and a low, semicircular stone surround was built on either side of the statue. Bronze medallions, created by Peter Hills, were attached to the ends. These represent the “prison brooch” or “badge” of the WSPU on the left, and on the right is a profile bust of Christabel Pankhurst, who died in 1958. The unveiling of this double memorial took place on July 13, 1959 by Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir .

Sylvia Pankhurst died in 1960, she is not remembered here.

In 1970 the memorial was granted entry in the “listed buildings” (listed monuments / buildings).

Proposed relocation in 2018

In August 2018, a group called The Emmeline Pankhurst Trust Limited and led by former Conservative MP Neil Thorne sought planning permission to move the monument from the square next to Parliament to the private property of Regent's University London . 889 objections were raised, including by MPs Caroline Flint and Vicky Ford, and activist Caroline Criado-Perez. The application was then withdrawn on September 14th.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest number 1357336, statue of Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, Retrieved April 7, 2019
  2. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 409
  3. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 409
  4. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 409
  5. Ryland Wallace: The Women's Suffrage Movement in Wales, 1866-1928 . Cardiff, University of Wales Press 2009. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-708-32173-7
  6. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  7. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  8. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  9. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  10. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  11. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  12. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  13. ^ Pugh, 2003, p. 410
  14. The Memorial to Emmeline Pankhurst, abstract. Accessed April 7, 2019
  15. The Times made some recordings of this celebration, one of which is owned by Susanne Wosnitzka. In this picture, Ethel Smyth is wearing her honorary doctorate gown. Some men in the background are filming this scene with cameras. A 14645, nex39621 (historicimages.com): "FAMOUS CONDUCTOR AT UNVEILING OF MRS PANKHURST STATUE. Our picture shows Dame Ethel Smythe [sic], the Metropolitan Police Band playing the piece" The March of the Women "and the chorale conducted her composition "The Wreckers" for the unveiling of the statue of Mrs. Pankhurst.
  16. Philip Ward-Jackson: Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1 . (In the series: Public Sculpture of Britain, Volume 14) Liverpool, Liverpool University Press 2011, pp. 382–385.
  17. Company number 10726298 . September 24, 2018.
  18. ^ The Emmeline Pankhurst Trust Limited . In: Charity Commission . 15th August 2018.
  19. Nadia Khomami: Anger over plan to move Pankhurst statue away from parliament ( en ) August 17, 2018.
  20. 18/05778 / FULL Removal / dismantling of the statue at Victoria Tower gardens and making good the ground on which it stands. . In: City of Westminster Council . 15th August 2018.

literature

  • Martin Pugh: The Pankhursts: The History of One Radical Family , Random House 2013. ISBN 9781448162680

Web links

Commons : Emmeline Pankhurst Memorial, London  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 52.7 "  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 31.2"  W.