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Notes

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A statue of John Bright, MP, stands on a tapering square pedestal with cornice and moulded base, on stylobate. It is inscribed on all sides with various quotes and insignia. It was originally located on the Town Hall Square until 1933 when alterations to the road layout resulted in it being moved to Broadfield Park.

John Bright was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. He is most famous for battling the Corn Laws. In partnership with Richard Cobden, he founded the Anti-Corn Law League, aimed at abolishing the Corn Laws, which raised food prices and protected landowners' interests by levying taxes on imported wheat. The Corn Laws were repealed in 1846. Bright sat in the House of Commons from 1843 to 1889, promoting free trade, electoral reform and religious freedom.

Title

John Bright (1811–1889)

Medium

bronze & granite

Measurements

H 290 x W (?) x D (?) cm;
Plinth: H 335 x W 160 x D 160 cm

Accession number

OL16_PRJ_S007

Work type

Statue

Owner

Rochdale Borough Council

Custodian

Rochdale Borough Council

Work status

extant

Listing status

Grade II (England and Wales)

Unveiling date

24th October 1891

Listing date

12/02/85

Access

time restrictions apply

Access note

Park opening times

Signature/marks description

on plinth: Hamo Thornycroft R.A. Sc. 1891

Inscription description

pedestal front: JOHN BRIGHT / BORN 16TH NOVR 1811 /DIED 27TH MARCH 1889. / "BE JUST AND FEAR NOT"; pedestal left-hand side: THIS STATUE / OF ROCHDALE'S GREATEST TOWNSMAN / WHO DEVOTED THE LABOURS OF A LIFE AND / THE MIGHT OF AN UNEQUALLED ELOQUENCE / TO THE ADVANCEMENT / OF JUSTICE, OF FREEDOM, AND OF PEACE, / LOOKING FOR NO EARTHLY REWARD / IS ERECTED / AS A MARK OF THE LOVE AND VENERATION / WITH WHICH HIS MEMORY IS CHERISHED / BY ALL CLASSES OF HIS COUNTRYMEN / OCTOBER 1891.; pedestal rear: MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT / FOR / DURHAM (CITY) 1843-1847 / MANCHESTER 1847-1857 / BIRMINGHAM 1857-1889 / APPOINTED MEMBER OF HER MAJESTY'S / MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL 1868. / PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE / 1868-1870 / CHANCELLOR OF THE DUCHY OF / LANCASTER 1873-1874 / AND 1880-1882.; pedestal right-hand side: “MY CONSCIENCE TELLS ME THAT I HAVE / LABOURED HONESTLY ONLY TO DESTROY / THAT WHICH IS EVIL AND TO BUILD UP / THAT WHICH IS GOOD.” / HOUSE OF COMMONS. 23. APR. 1866. / “FOR TWENTY FIVE YEARS I HAVE STOOD / BEFORE AUDIENCES - GREAT MEETINGS / OF MY COUNTRYMEN - PLEADING ONLY / FOR JUSTICE. / MY CLIENTS HAVE NOT BEEN / GENERALLY THE RICH AND THE GREAT, BUT / RATHER THE POOR AND THE LOWLY. THEY / CANNOT GIVE ME PLACE AND DIGNITIES / AND WEALTH: BUT HONOURABLE SERVICE IN / THEIR CAUSE YIELDS ME THAT WHICH IS / OF HIGHER AND MORE LASTING VALUE.” / BIRMINGHAM. 26. JAN. 1864.

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