Queen Victoria close up

These are just some of the amazingly intricate details from the statue of Queen Victoria by William Silver Frith (1860 - 1934) which stands at the top of the Doulton Fountain.  It was sculpted as a celebration of Victoria's golden jubilee.  The fountain is sometimes called the Victoria Fountain.

The Doulton Fountain is just outside the People's Palace in Glasgow.  Originally it was situated in Kelvingrove Park as part of the International Exhibition of 1888 and later gifted to the city by Sir Henry Doulton (you may have heard of Doulton Pottery).

The fountain itself was designed by Arthur Ernest  Pearce (1859 - 1934) who worked for the Doulton Company.  It has lots of other beautiful sculpture and it is hard to believe that the fountain was almost destroyed by vandals in the 1990s before it was moved to its present position. 

You can read more about this amazing fountain at Glasgow - City of Sculpture.

Love, Liz

Port Glasgow's Endeavour

I love this piece of sculpture.

It is called Endeavour and sits in front of Port Glasgow Town Hall on the main road into the town.

 

Its by Malcolm Robertson and celebrates the town's proud shipbuilding heritage.

 

The colours are those of the Cunard shipping line - the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the QE2 (amongst hundreds of other ships) were built on Clydeside and had connections with Port Glasgow.  The dry-dock at Port Glasgow was large enough to take these ships for refitting and other work.

I think that this sculpture is just so evocative of the bow of a proud ship as she slips through the waves.

 

Port Glasgow is so lucky to have this reminder of her wonderful history.

Love, Liz

Girl On a Suitcase

You don't often see civic sculpture as cute as this!

She's the "Girl On A Suitcase" by Scots sculptor Angela Hunter.  I think that she is so sweet!

The little bronze girl belongs to Gourock, a town just down the road from Greenock.

In its heyday, Gourock was a popular holiday town in its own right, but was also where the trains from Glasgow dropped off holidaymakers who then got ferries to Dunoon, Helensburgh and many other popular holiday destinations on the Clyde coast.  In those days, going abroad was not an option for ordinary working people.

So she sits on her suitcase, her bucket and spade by her side, gazing out across the Clyde, dreaming of sunny days, beaches and ice creams, as she waits for the ferry that will take her and her family on their annual holiday.

The sculpture was chosen by public vote - brilliant choice, in my opinion.

Love, Liz