Architectural sculpture on one of the pediments over the eastern entrance to Victoria Station. Henry Charles Fehr (1867-1940). c.1910. Portland stone. The frontage of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Station, as it then was, was the departure point for the Continent via boat-train from Chatham. Naturally Fehr adopted motifs associated with the sea. Each of the two pediments sports a pair of mermaid caryatids, with a wreath sited between them and a cartouche in the middle above them. Each mermaid has a boat under her protection, its prow and funnel peeping out from under one arm. She also holds one end of a swag of seashells. Nautical forms can be seen on either side of the cartouche as well — tridents and what look like the tips of anchors. The station frontage as a whole may be Edwardian Baroque, but the mermaids, with their flowing hair, sinuously coiling and scaly fish-tails, supple arms, and absorbed expressions, are more Art Nouveau in feel. [Click on this and the following images to enlarge them.]
Left: Close-up of one of the mermaid caryatids, with her long tail. Like pieces of architectural sculpture elsewhere, the mermaids here are protected” by netting and anti-pigeon spikes, but pollution has left its ugly mark, especially on the mermaid's right arm. There is some erosion, too. Middle: Closer view of the mermaid's face. Both spikes and netting are very much in evidence here, but there is still something alluring about the mermaid's languid, abandoned pose. Right: The mermaid on the other side. This one is clearly seen to be holding one end of the swag in her other hand. Her ship has a different funnel from the other one's, and she is in generally better condition.
Close-up of cartouche and finely executed shell swag. Note the mermaids' hands resting on it at each corner.
Related Material
Photographs 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.]
Bibliography
"Victoria Railway Station the Former London, Chatham and Dover Railway Station Including Train Shed, Westminster." British Listed Buildings). Web. 7 November 2016
Last modified 7 November 2016