William George Armstrong (detail)

Sir W. Hamo Thornycroft, R. A. (1850-1925)

1906

Bronze

Memorial to Lord Armstrong at the Barras Bridge, Newcastle

Other views of the monument and related material

complete statue

Swing-bridge (plaque)

Canons being loaded on a ship (plaque)

A Biography of Armstrong

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee

[You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

This life-size bronze of Lord Armstrong depicts him with a little Scottish terrier at his feet and a sheaf of drawings in his hand. The bronze sits on an ashlar pedestal with two bronze low-relief panels depicting his work, and places to sit, on either side. The panel on the left shows a hydraulic crane lowering a gun onto a battleship. The one on the right depicts a ship being towed through the Newcastle Swing-Bridge, with Stephenson’s High-Level Bridge standing out clearly in the background.

Thornycroft has caught Armstrong looking thoughtful and quite without pomposity. At the unveiling in 1906, in the presence of a large crowd, the Duke of Northumberland described the monument movingly as a “noble tribute to the genius of Newcastle’s greatest benefactor and one of England’s most brilliant and honoured masters of industry."

Unfortunately, the extensive rebuilding work on the Hancock Museum of Natural History, of which Armstrong was both benefactor and President, makes a dreary backdrop for the memorial at present (2007). But it will no doubt be shown off to advantage again when the rebuilding is completed in 2009.

References

University of Newcastle Upon Tyne’s SINE (Structural Images of the North East) project.

The Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project.

---

Last modified 21 July 2007