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The statue of Queen Victoria was presented
to the townspeople by self-styled ‘Lord’ George
Sanger, a showman and colourful character
with links to the town, to commemorate the
‘Great and Good’ Queen, who died on January
22, 1901. It was unveiled in the Market Place
on June 24,1903.
It remained there for 30 years, until, in 1933,
it was moved to make way for a car park and
market stalls, and spent the next 30 years in
the gardens of Greenham House in St John’s
Road. Traffic issues again forced its removal
– this time to make way for the north-south
inner relief road.
In 1966, the statue was moved to its current
location in Victoria Park, but there was room
for only two of the four lions.
The unlucky two stayed tarnished in the
Corporation Depot.
As ever, townspeople were keen to offer
suggestions, which “both constructive and
frivolous” poured into the
Newbury Weekly
News
office.
Mr P Pocock of Chieveley suggested they
might be gifted to the people of Newbury’s
German twin town Braunfels. It is not clear
what the people of Braunfels thought (or if they
were even consulted), but transport costs were
felt to be too high, and the risk of damage on
the journey too great.
So the unlucky two remained in the
Corporation Depot until later in 1966 when they
were gifted to Mr Gilbert Beale and spent many
happy years at Beale Park, between Basildon
and Pangbourne.
But Newbury people have long memories and
the lions continued to be missed.
A 1994 attempt to put them in their rightful
place ended in failure, and the statue was
often the target of vandals in the 1990s.
In 2001, the mayor Dr Sue Farrant, reacting
to public pressure, got things moving again,
and in June 2002 all four lions were reunited
in Victoria Park – almost 100 years after they
were first gifted to the town.
And that’s where they have been ever since.
What’s in a name?
OA
feature
The statue of Queen Victoria adorned the Market Place until the 1930s
We are not amused
– the statue was the target of vandals in the 1990s
The statue of Queen Victoria with the four lions now has a permanent place in the park
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