Hotels near Albert Memorial in London
The Albert Memorial is one of the great sculptural achievements of the Victorian era, and for sheer scale, opulence and complexity is hard to match. The architect was George Gilbert Scott, and he was much inspired by miniature medieval shrines, and also by the medieval Eleanor Crosses. The composition has a large statue of Albert seated in a vast Gothic shrine, and includes a frieze with 169 carved figures, angels and virtues higher up, and separate groups representing the Continents, Industrial Arts and Sciences. The pillars supporting the canopy are of red granite from the Ross of Mull, and from a grey granite from Castle Wellan Quarries, Northern Ireland. These latter pillars, of which there are four, are from single stones, weighing about 17 tons each. Each pillar took eight men about 20 weeks to finish and polish, and the Albert Memorial was noted at the time of its completion as being one of the most costly works in granite of the period. Darley Dale stone was used for the capitals, and the arches are of Portland stone. Pink granite from Correnac, Aberdeen, appears with marble in the pedestal on which the statue of Albert sits.The edifice was opened to the public in 1872, and the statue of Albert was installed in 1875.
The sculptor was Carlo Marochetti, a favorite of Queen Victoria. He produced two designs for statues of Albert, neither considered quite right, and was working on a third when he died. J. H. Foley was selected in his place, and completed a suitable statue, cast in many parts, but himself died before they could be assembled. That task was left to Thomas Brock, his assistant at that time. Older sources indicate that another pupil of Foley's, G. F. Teniswood, also had a hand in the completion of the statue. The sculptor in overall charge of designing the statuary of the memorial was H. H. Armstead, and he made the Sciences, and together with J. Birnie Philip, made the 169-figure Frieze of Parnassus. J. B. Philip also designed the angels, and the eight Virtues were sculpted by J. F. Redfern. Mosaics were by Salviati of Murano, to designs of John Clayton of Clayton and Bell. The most impressive groups are the four Continents and the four Industries, entrusted by Armstead to eight eminent sculptors.
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