Queen Victoria Statue

The statue is one of fourteen of Queen Victoria by Thomas Brock and the first of them to be completed after the monarch's death. Brock designed the statue in 1897, having been commissioned for Victoria's diamond jubilee, which provided work for many sculptors. It was not unveiled until 9 February 1901, a month after she died. Hove's statue was the fourth of fourteen by Brock of Queen Victoria to be commissioned. It cost £3,000. The committee wanted a large memorial (it asked Brock to "design a Memorial Statue of large proportions and of the highest class"), so Brock made Victoria taller than his previous version in Worcester and increased the perception of height by placing the statue on a…

The statue stands at the south end of Grand Avenue in the middle of the road, facing the sea, at the opposite end of the street from Hove War Memorial (1921 by Sir Edwin Lutyens). It is in bronze and stands 13 ft high on an Aberdeen granite plinth The front relief (the south side of the monument), Empire, is the most detailed of the four and is in the best condition. It depicts a female figure of Justice, holding a pair of scales in her right hand and an orb in her left. She is surrounded by figures representing parts of the British Empire—Australia and Canada to the right and India and Africa to the left. The rear (north) relief, Science and Art, depicts a woman embracing a child who sits…