| Blake Statue | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Blake Statue | |
| Artist | F. W. Pomeroy |
| Completion date | 1900 |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Subject | Robert Blake |
| Location | Bridgwater, Somerset, England |
| 51°07′42″N3°00′13″W / 51.1284°N 3.0036°W | |
The Blake Statue in Bridgwater, Somerset, England was unveiled in 1900 to commemorate naval commander Robert Blake. The hollow bronze life size sculpture was crafted by F. W. Pomeroy. It is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
The hollow Bronze, statue was made by F. W. Pomeroy at a cost of £1,200. [2] It was unveiled in 1900 by Lord Brassey. [3] Pomeroy was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He was one of the so-called New Sculptors identified by Edmund Gosse in 1894 – a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards naturalism and their work in architectural sculpture. [3]
It was erected to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Robert Blake. [3] £1,200 had been raised from public donation to fund the statue. [4] Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. [5] He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater in the Short Parliament. When the English Civil War broke out during the period of the Long Parliament, and having failed to be re-elected, Blake began his military career on the side of the parliamentarians despite having no substantial experience of military or naval matters. [6] Blake was appointed general at sea in 1649, serving in the First Anglo-Dutch War and Anglo-Spanish War. [7] Later he was made Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
The statue was moved to its current site in 1986 having previously stood in front of the Corn Exchange. [4] [8] [9]
The hollow bronze statue depicts Blake dressed as a parliamentary soldier with his right arm outstretched and with a sword in his left hand. [1] [3]
The brick dais is surrounded by granite steps. [10] The inscription on the front of the plinth says "Robert Blake born in this town 1598 died at sea 1657". [1] The other three sides record his naval victories. [10]
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 Census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett; it has been a major inland port and trading centre since the industrial revolution. Most of its industrial bases still stand today. Its larger neighbour, Taunton, is linked to Bridgwater via a canal, the M5 motorway and the GWR railway line.
Robert Blake was an English naval officer who served as the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1656 to 1657. Blake is recognized as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy well into the early 20th century. Despite this, due to deliberate attempts to expunge the Parliamentarians from historical records following the Stuart Restoration, Blake's achievements tend to remain unrecognized. Blake's successes have been considered to have "never been excelled, not even by Nelson" according to one biographer.
The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seafarers and fishermen who were killed as a result of enemy action and have no known grave. The first, the Mercantile Marine War Memorial, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1928; the second, the Merchant Seamen's Memorial, was designed by Sir Edward Maufe and unveiled in 1955. A third memorial, commemorating merchant seamen who were killed in the 1982 Falklands War, was added to the site in 2005.
The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict between the English Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell, and Spain, between 1654 and 1660. It was caused by commercial rivalry. Each side attacked the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways such as privateering and naval expeditions. In 1655, an English amphibious expedition invaded Spanish territory in the Caribbean. In 1657, England formed an alliance with France, merging the Anglo–Spanish war with the larger Franco-Spanish War resulting in major land actions that took place in the Spanish Netherlands.
Frederick William Pomeroy was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards naturalism and for their works of architectural sculpture. Pomeroy had several significant public works in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, notably in Belfast. His work in London includes the figure of Lady Justice (1905–1906) on the dome of the Old Bailey.
Events from the year 1657 in England.
The Blake Museum is in Bridgwater, Somerset, England at what is believed to be the birthplace of Robert Blake, General at Sea (1598–1657). Since April 2009 it has been run by Bridgwater Town Council with help from the Friends of Blake Museum. It has been an Accredited Museum since 2006. It is next door to the Bridgwater Town Mill, and there are plans to develop this as an extension of the museum.
Robert Blake School, formerly Robert Blake Science College, is a mixed secondary school in Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in Cornhill, Bridgwater, Somerset, England. The structure, which is now used as a shopping arcade, is a Grade I listed building.
Admiral David G. Farragut is a statue in Washington, D.C., honoring David Farragut, a career military officer who served as the first admiral in the United States Navy. The monument is sited in the center of Farragut Square, a city square in downtown Washington, D.C. The statue was sculpted by female artist Vinnie Ream, whose best-known works include a statue of Abraham Lincoln and several statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The monument was dedicated in 1881 in an extravagant ceremony attended by President James A. Garfield, members of his cabinet, and thousands of spectators. It was the first monument erected in Washington, D.C., in honor of a naval war hero.
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Twickenham War Memorial, in Radnor Gardens, Twickenham, London, commemorates the men of the district of Twickenham who died in the First World War. After 1945, the memorial was updated to recognise casualties from the Second World War. The memorial was commissioned by Twickenham Urban District Council in 1921. It was designed by the sculptor Mortimer Brown, and is Brown's only significant public work. The memorial is unusual for its representation of a jubilant soldier returning home. It became a Grade II* listed structure in 2017.
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