Like most of our public parks, Bradford's Lister Park has its fair share of statues dotted around. This one, set on an island in the (currently drained) boating lake is a recent addition, gifted to the park by the philanthropist Trevor Pears. It was made in Liverpool and is similar to the one that has stood in London's Kensington Gardens since 1912, showing Peter Pan blowing a horn and surrounded by fairies and woodland creatures. See HERE.
These pictures were taken on my phone and it was a really dull day, so I've converted them to mono. I may go back one day with my camera and try to get a better, closer image of the statue.
The statue below is Samuel Cunliffe Lister, after whom the park is named. Erected in 1875, it commemorates the inventor, industrialist and founder of nearby Lister Mill, another huge Victorian textile mill. The panels on the plinth feature images of life in the mills.
Then we have Saltaire's founder Sir Titus Salt: renowned industrialist, philanthropist and former mayor of Bradford, sitting under a Gothic style canopy, designed by Saltaire's architects Lockwood and Mawson. This statue was originally placed outside Bradford's Town (now City) Hall and was moved to the park in the 1890s. There have been recent discussions about whether it should remain in the park or be moved back to the city centre or perhaps to Saltaire. For now, he sits in splendour gazing down at the grand Norman Arch entrance to the park.
Well, that's about as close to being a saint as a modern man might become! What a setting for a statue!
ReplyDeleteThere is another casting of that Peter Pan sculpture in a park here. It is quite lovely.
ReplyDeleteBlack and white very much suits these.
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