Captain Smith of the Titanic in Museum Gardens

Recently local councillors have been asked to appear on local radio, local and national tv, as well as in local newspapers about calls made by a Hanley resident who feels passionately that the statue of Captain Smith, which stands proudly in Museum Gardens, should be move to Hanley, the town of Captain Smith’s birth.

Whilst we applaud this passion for Captain Smith’s statue, the council is not considering any proposals to move it anywhere.

Here’s a quick history of how we came to have the statue:

• The statue has been a key focal point in Museum Gardens for nearly 100 years (since 1914) and is much loved by local people to this day.
• It was lovingly restored by Lichfield District Council & Lichfield City Council in 2010 as part of the Lichfield Historic Parks project.
• The call to move the statue of Captain Smith ‘back’ to Hanley is incorrect. The statue was never destined for Stoke. It was designed and made specifically for Lichfield. Lichfield is very proud of the statue and, whilst we understand people in Stoke may wish to have a similar statue to celebrate the life of Captain Smith, we have no intention of considering any proposal to move the statue anywhere.
• The idea that all statues need to be sited in city in which the subject of the statue was born is unusual to say the least! Just imagine what would happen if Nelson’s column had to be moved to Norfolk, or if the statue of David in the Accademia gallery in Florence had to be moved to ancient Israel, or the Statue of Liberty had to be sent to Rome.
• The story of the statue began in 1913, when a Mr Stevenson from Suffolk wrote to Lichfield City Council to ask it to find a suitable location for a statue to Captain Smith of the Titanic.
• Mr Stevenson suggested that as Captain Smith was a Staffordshire man, and that Lichfield was the centre of that diocese, that Lichfield would be the ideal location for the statue.
• In 1914 Lichfield City Council unanimously agreed to offer a site in the Museum Gardens grounds. A newspaper cutting from the time said: “Captain Smith was a native of Hanley, and a tablet having been placed in the town hall there, Lichfield was selected for the statue as the centre of the dioceses to which he belonged by birth, and as a convenient calling place for visitors travelling between London and Liverpool.”
• The original cost of the statue was £740 in 1914 and it was raised through local and national contributions which were sent to the Lichfield branch of the National Provincial Bank of England and were used for the statue and for the new Cathedral in Liverpool.
• Before the statue was erected Lichfield City Council received a petition from 74 local people against the erection of the statue. After a lively debate, this petition was unanimously rejected by Lichfield City Council.
• The statue was proudly unveiled in 1914, (six days before WWI was declared) in the presence of a large local and distinguished audience, including the Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Kathleen Scott (the sculptress of the statue and widow of Scott of the Antarctic).
• Kathleen Scott studied under Rodin in Paris.
• The statue is made of bronze. It stands on a pedestal of Cornish granite. The plaque underneath the statue was fixed by Lichfield stonemasons Robert Bridgeman & Son and shows the pride the city of Lichfield felt for Commander Smith: “Commander Edward John Smith. Born January 27th 1850. Died 15th April 1912. Bequeathing to his countrymen the memory and example of a great heart, a brave life and a heroic death, Be British!”
• To commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, we’re working on plans for a range of events, and we’ll be posting details of this to our council website, so keep an eye on www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/titanicevents

We’d very much welcome people from Hanley if they would like to come and help us to mark next year’s centenary.

Repaired balustrades into Museum Gardens

We’re really pleased that the historic balustrades, which were damaged in a car accident earlier this year, have now been repaired by master stone masons.  

The repaired balustrades provide a fitting entrance into Museum Gardens, next to the planned refreshment kiosk.