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A bronze standing figure of the Arctic explorer, set on a granite pedestal with bronze panels. The statue shows Franklin in the act of announcing the discovery of the Northwest Passage to his officers and crew. He wears a loose overcoat of fur over the full uniform of a naval commander. In his hands are a telescope, chart, and compasses, and behind him are an anchor and a block of ice. Around the cornice of the pedestal runs a bronze cable motif. At the front of the pedestal, a relief shows Captain Crozier, Franklin’s second-in-command, reading the burial service as he commits his commander’s coffin to the ice amongst the assembled crews. On the back of the pedestal is an embossed chart of the Arctic regions, showing the positions of the boats and crews at the moment of Franklin’s burial.
Title
Sir John Franklin (1786–1847)
Date
1866
Medium
bronze & Aberdeen granite
Measurements
H 250 x W (?) x D (?) cm;
Plinth: H 315 x W (?) x D (?) cm
Accession number
SW1Y_TJ_S022
Acquisition method
commissioned
Work type
Statue
Custodian
English Heritage
Work status
extant
Listing status
Grade II (England and Wales)
Unveiling date
15th November 1866
Listing date
05/02/70
Access
at all times
Signature/marks description
stamped: M Noble 1866 sculpt.; on left: robinson & cottam / founders
Inscription description
front of plinth: TO THE GREAT ARCTIC NAVIGATOR / AND HIS BRAVE COMPANIONS / WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN COMPLETING / THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE / A.D. 1847 - 8 / ERECTED BY THE UNANIMOUS VOTE OF PARLIAMENT; side panel, left: a list of names of lost souls (15 Officers, 22 Petty Officers, 20 Able Seamen, 6 Marines and 2 boys) / HER MAJESTY'S SHIP TERROR / THEY FORGED THE LAST LINK WITH THEIR LIVES; side panel, right: includes a list of names of lost souls (14 Officers, 21 Petty Officers, 20 Able Seamen, 6 Marines and 2 boys) / HER MAJESTY'S SHIP EREBUS / THEY FORGED THE LAST LINK WITH THEIR LIVES.