TRIVIA: Statues at railway stations

[John Hunt]

Thomas Cook at Leicester London Rd Stn

 

[simonw]

It’s a great statue and completely appropriate for a railway station.

On the first part, we will have to agree to disagree.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

There was a Terence Cuneo statue at Waterloo but not sure if it's still there.

It wasn't there when I last visited, but that was sometime last year, so I'm not up to date with it.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There was a Terence Cuneo statue at Waterloo but not sure if it's still there.

No longer at London Waterloo. An online news story from 2014 suggests that it had been removed and transported to an army barracks location in Medway, Kent (which, upon further investigation, would seem to be Brompton Barracks, home of the Corps of Royal Engineers.)

Terence Cuneo statue removed from Waterloo Station

A statue of railway artist Terence Cuneo - unveiled by the Princess Royal a decade ago - has been removed from Waterloo Station and will be displayed at an army barracks in Kent.

www.london-se1.co.uk

 

[Dr Hoo]

No longer at London Waterloo. An online news story from 2014 suggests that it had been removed and transported to an army barracks location in Medway, Kent (which, upon further investigation, would seem to be Brompton Barracks, home of the Corps of Royal Engineers.)

Terence Cuneo statue removed from Waterloo Station

A statue of railway artist Terence Cuneo - unveiled by the Princess Royal a decade ago - has been removed from Waterloo Station and will be displayed at an army barracks in Kent.

www.london-se1.co.uk

Thanks for that. Makes sense, I suppose. Cuneo did plenty of 'military' painting besides his railway stuff. I met him once.

 

[The exile]

Brunel is also now at Bristol Temple Meads, having been moved there from the Centre.

 

[John Luxton]

Ken Dodd and Bessie Braddock MP at Liverpool Lime Street

One wonders why Bessie Braddock was placed in Liverpool Lime Street. As someone brought up in Liverpool she is very much a "marmite" controversial character seen by some as as an angel whilst by others including my own parents and grandparents she was reviled.

She is non too popular with the Welsh either as she was the prime mover when lead of Liverpool City Council in the flooding of Capel Celyn Village to built the reservoir in the Treweryn valley above Bala.

Her statue in Lime Street has been the target of protestors as this image from the Daily Post newspaper / web site shows.

Liverpool has many noteworthy former residents some one else should have been placed here such as Noel Chavasse VC.

Interestingly the Braddock statue is located close to Platform 7 which is often used by Transport for Wales services to Chester and Wrexham!

Winston Churchill is reputed to have made an interesting comment to her when she accused him of being drunk!

 

[Basil Jet]

There's a statue of a blue haired woman reading a book in the gateline booth at Borough Station. At least I think it's a statue, it never looks up or moves.

 

[chessie]

George Stephenson at Chesterfield

 

[WesternBiker]

There's "Seated Man" on platform 1 of Woking station, one of several around Woking by sculptor Sean Henry (who was born in Woking).

 

[ess]

Statue for 'British Schindler' Sir Nicholas Winton at Maidenhead https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-11356875

 

[SargeNpton]

The 1960s build of Northampton featured a statue of St Christopher, which unfortunately disappeared in one of its many re-vamps. I'm told that it was rescued from being sent for scrap and is supposedly in someone's back garden in the town.

Aren't there also some stations in south-east London with statues seated on some of the platforms?

Edit: Now found a photo of the St Christopher...

 

[Furrysquid]

There are three steel trees just outside Birmingham New Street, erected as a memorial to the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings.

There's also several stations in the West Midlands where the info point by the station entrance has some form of sculpture on top - Olton has a knight, Jewellery Quarter has the works of a clock, and Smethwick Galton Bridge has a representation of Galton Bridge itself. And there's Kevin Atherton's "Iron Horse" between Brum and Wolverhampton.

 

[4COR]

On the other side of the drop off outside Oxford, there is the large bronze statue "The Ox" (by Olivia Musgrave).

 

[Frankton Junct]

Bud Neill's G.I. Bride in Partick Station:

dave souza, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

[Dr Hoo]

Spotted Josiah Wedgwood just opposite Stoke-on-Trent station today. It fits nicely into the general setting even if it isn't strictly on railway property.

(Unable to load my own image - too large - or paste a weblink - beyond me - but I expect that someone can oblige.)

 

[Roger1973]

Aren't there also some stations in south-east London with statues seated on some of the platforms?

Brixton has some passenger statues, standing rather than seated. I'm not aware of others, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

 

[JB_B]

“The Lovers” by Paul Day at St Pancras is wonderful.

Interesting - I've never come across anyone who likes that statue before - assuming that you're referring to the "hideous giant lizard-eyed people"

No accounting for taste...

 

[D821]

Interesting - I've never come across anyone who likes that statue before - assuming that you're referring to the "hideous giant lizard-eyed people"

No accounting for taste...

I've just had to look that up to see what the fuss is about, "giant lizard-eyed people" sums it up well.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

There used to be a sculpture called 'Archform' by the Welsh artist Harvey Hood outside Newport station. It's now been moved to a new temporary home (aka storage) whilst the construction of the new footbridge over the station is taking place, and is supposed to be coming back. It's got no real connection with the railway, but it was, I think, a convenient place to put it.

 

[swt_passenger]

There's an old industrial steam loco outside Stratford (London). Also the old underground tube cars perched on a disused viaduct near Shoreditch. Do these count as "statues"? Also the Harry Potter luggage trolley at KX...

No. A “Statue” is defined in most (all?) dictionaries as being of a person or animal.

 

[Ken H]

Brixton has some passenger statues, standing rather than seated. I'm not aware of others, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

I quite like it. But it looks better from further away, not close up.

 

[vic-rijrode]

Is the stuffed dog at Slough still there?

 

[d9009alycidon]

Couple from Scotland, there is a statue of a young boy in Weymss Bay Station, locally known as Bobby, a modern art statue of a porter at Pitlochry and just outside Glasgow Central is a statue of a citizen firefighter.

 

[urbophile]

It’s a great statue and completely appropriate for a railway station.

It's naff! But that is just my opinion.

The 1960s build of Northampton featured a statue of St Christopher, which unfortunately disappeared in one of its many re-vamps. I'm told that it was rescued from being sent for scrap and is supposedly in someone's back garden in the town.

Aren't there also some stations in south-east London with statues seated on some of the platforms?

No, they are just passengers who petrified while waiting.

 

[childwallblues]

There are two statues of lamb bananas at Rundorn Station and one at Liverpool South Parkway.

 

[LPJOHN]

There is a large multi-coloured cat outside Kirkby station, installed today.

There is a large hand on platform 2 of Stoke on Trent.

 

[Mikey C]

Not a current station, but there's a statue of George Bernard Shaw at the restored Wheathampstead station

George Bernard Shaw at Wheathampstead... © Robert Eva

Bernard Shaw travelled regularly from Wheathampstead to London. He would cycle to the station from his home in Ayot St Lawrence and leave his bike at the Railway Hotel.

www.geograph.org.uk

 

[WesternBiker]

There are two statues of lamb bananas at Rundorn Station and one at Liverpool South Parkway.

I wondered what a Lamb Banana (called Lambanana on the website) looked like.

Now I know...!

 

[vic-rijrode]

There are two statues of lamb bananas at Rundorn Station and one at Liverpool South Parkway.

What on earth are lamb bananas?

Ah I now know: