“The Prince of Wales” by Matthew Noble (bap.1817, d.1876)

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Edward, Prince of Wales

Matthew Noble (c.1817-1876)

1872

White marble on a polished red granite pedestal

Vestibule, Leeds Town Hall

The Headrow, Leeds

The Prince of Wales visited Leeds in 1868 for the opening of the new General Infirmary, and soon afterwards it was decided that he and the Princess of Wales should be honoured in the new Town Hall, where Noble's statue of Queen Victoria already stood in the middle of the vestibule. The preponderance of marble statuary and red granite here (a statue of Prince Albert had been added in 1865) makes at least some commentators feel that the vestibule is a bit like a mausoleum (see Linstrum 412), but the bust itself is rather fine: the Prince looks proud without looking haughty, and the detail is good.

The bust in situ (on the right)

Leeds Town Hall

Photograph (with background digitally removed) and caption by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2011. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly and educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Linstrum, Derek. "Town Hall." Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North. 425-26.

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1982.

"Statues and Inscriptions." Discovering Leeds: Leeds Town Hall. Leeds City Council site. Web 7 July 2011.

Last modified 8 July 2011