Gladstone Memorial

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) served four terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 1868 and 1894. One of outstanding political figures of Victorian England, he sought to reform the electoral franchise through the Representation of the People Act 1884 and the introduction of secret ballots; pursued free trade and attempted to "pacify Ireland" through Home Rule. Although personally opposed to imperial expansion, his terms of office saw major foreign engagements including the death of General Gordon at Khartoum, the Mahdist War and the outbreak of the First Boer War. Following Gladstone’s death in 1898, a committee was established to raise funds for a national memorial. The…

The statue is executed in bronze and is 3.35 m high. It stands on a plinth of Portland stone by John Lee. Gladstone is depicted in the robes of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. An inscription on the front of the plinth reads "GLADSTONE 1809-1898". Allegorical statues of women, mostly with children, surround the base, representing four of the Virtues, Courage, Brotherhood, Education and Aspiration.