Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/24/001

Address :
John Lawrence Statue Foyle College Springtown Londonderry Co. Londonderry BT48 0LX

Townland:
Springtown

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:
26/02/1979 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:
14/02/2017 00:00:00

Current Use:
Memorial

Former Use
Memorial

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
26-15SE

IG Ref:
C4261 1857

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Free-standing figurative cast bronze statue of Sir John Lawrence, cast in 1881, by Sir Joseph E. Boehm and set on a non-original rough-hewn granite plinth. It was erected at its current location in 1967. Located on an elevated site, facing east and to the east of the front car park to Foyle College. Life-sized figurative bronze depiction of Lawrence in late nineteenth-century attire holding a quill in his right hand and sword in his left hand. Bronze base has inscription to south side; 'J.E. BOEHM. Feat 1881'. Inscription to the rear states; 'RESTORED BY THE / MORRIS SINGER CO. LTD. / LONDON S.W.8 / 1962'. Bronze plaque to the front of plinth states; 'JOHN LAWRENCE / 1811-1879 / VICEROY OF INDIA / 1864-1869 / This statue was erected in / London in 1882 and re-erected in / Lahore in 1887. It was brought to / Foyle College on the initiative of / the Old Boys' Association in 1963 / and unveiled at Lawrence Hill / by J.C. Eaton, D.L., J.P. / on behalf of the Association. It / was removed to its present site / in 1967.' Setting: Located on an elevated site at the east side of Foyle College car park to the west of Northland Road. Roof N/A RWG N/A Walling Rough-hewn granite plinth Windows N/A

Architects

Historical Information

The John Lawrence Statue, a bronze figure set on a tall granite plinth located in front of Foyle and Londonderry College on the Northland Road, was cast in 1881. The statue was created as a memorial to Sir. John Lawrence (1811 –1879), a prominent British statesman who served as Viceroy of India between 1864 and 1869. John Laird Mair Lawrence was born on 4th March 1811 in Richmond (Yorkshire) but spent part of his youth in Londonderry and was educated at Foyle College on the Strand Road (HB01/22/016) where his uncle the Rev. James Knox presided. Lawrence travelled to Calcutta where he joined the East India Company in 1830. The Dictionary of Indian Biography notes that Lawrence joined the Civil Service where he served as District Officer of Delhi and, during the Sikh War (1845-46), he was appointed Commissioner of the Jullundur region where he brutally suppressed the rebellious hill tribes. In 1849 Lawrence was appointed to the Punjab Board of Administration and became Chief Commissioner of the Punjab in 1853. During the Indian Rebellion, Lawrence prevented the fighting from spreading to the Punjab and subsequently raised an army to recapture Delhi from the rebels. In 1858, following the suppression of the rebellion, Lawrence was made a Baronet in recognition of his actions. Lawrence succeeded James Bruce (Lord Elgin) as Viceroy of India in 1864 and continued to serve as head of the British administration in the country until 1869 when he returned to England. Upon his return, Lawrence was elevated to the peerage as Baron Lawrence of the Punjab and of Grateley (Southampton). Sir John Lawrence died on 27th June 1879 and was buried at Westminster Abbey (Dictionary of Ulster Biography; Dictionary of Indian Biography). Following Lawrence’s death in 1879 a number of statues of the former Viceroy were commissioned for placement in both England and India. The statue that currently resides at Foyle College was originally located at Waterloo Place in London and was designed by Sir. Joseph E. Boehm (1834-1890). One of the most prolific sculptors of the Victorian period, Boehm was born in Vienna and moved to London in 1862 where he exhibited work at the Royal Academy and swiftly became known for his portrait bust and statues. Boehm was favoured by the Royal family and received over 40 royal commissions throughout his career. Amongst his greatest works were the statue of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle (1869), the statue of Charles Darwin at the Natural History Museum (1885), the coinage for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee (1887) and the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner (1888). Boehm designed two statues of Sir. John Lawrence, both of which were originally exhibited in London. The statue currently located at Foyle and Londonderry College was Boehm’s first statue of Lawrence and was originally cast in 1881. The statue depicted Lawrence as both warrior and statesman (carrying a sword and pen in his hands) and bore the inscription ‘Will you be governed by the pen or the sword?’ The London Encyclopaedia notes that the statue was originally placed in Waterloo Place in 1882 but, ‘disturbed by criticism and not satisfied himself,’ Boehm replaced it with a second statue which was cast in 1884 (and continues to stand in the square). The original statue was relocated to India in 1887 and placed in the Lawrence Gardens in Lahore where it remained until the 1960s (London Encyclopaedia; DIA) Rowan and the UAHS guide for Londonderry state that the statue was moved from India to Londonderry in 1903, although this fact conflicts with The Derry Journal which noted that the statue lay in a scrap yard in Lahore until the early-1960s when Foyle College’s Old Boy’s Association campaigned for the statue to be transported to Londonderry. Following the Partition of India in 1947 Lahore became part of the Dominion of Pakistan (later the Islamic Republic of Pakistan) and the statue of Lawrence was removed from the Lawrence Gardens during the tumult. In 1962 the statue had returned to London where it was restored by the Morris Singer Company which replaced its right hand and the sword in its left hand (both of which had been lost in India). Lawrence’s statue was then moved to Londonderry and in March 1963 it was installed in front of Foyle College on the Strand Road where the Viceroy had begun his education and career (Derry Journal). Lawrence’s statue was relocated to its current site on the Northland Road in 1967 during the construction of A. T. Marshall’s three-storey school building which was opened in 1968 and continues to be utilised as Foyle and Londonderry’s junior school. John Lawrence’s statue was listed in 1979 (UAHS guide, p. 40; Rowan, p. 390; NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. Dictionary of Indian Biography (1906) 2. First Survey Record – HB01/24/001 (1970) 3. NIEA HB Records – HB01/24/001 4. Derry Journal (31 Jan 2008) Secondary Sources 1. ‘The Foyle Civic Trust: Review 2002-2003’ Londonderry: Foyle Civic Trust, 2003. 2. ‘The London Encyclopaedia’ London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2008. 3. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013 – including Corporation Map of Londonderry (1857). 4. Ferguson, W. S; Rowan, A. J; Tracey, J. J., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the city of Derry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970. 5. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. Dictionary of Ulster Biography - http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A free-standing figurative cast bronze statue of Sir John Lawrence, cast in 1881 to designs by Sir Joseph E. Boehm (1834-1890), one of the most prolific sculptors of the Victorian period. Sir John Lawrence (1811 –1879) was a prominent British statesman who served as Viceroy of India between 1864 and 1869. Following Lawrence’s death in 1879 a number of statues of the former Viceroy were commissioned for placement in both England and India. This bronze was Boehm’s first statue of Lawrence and was originally located at Waterloo Place, London. It was moved to Lahore in 1887 and stayed there until the 1960’s. The statue was then brought to Foyle College in 1963 as it was here that Lawrence began his education. Despite being a well executed statue by a noteworthy Victorian sculptor, it is not in its original setting and is currently located in the front car park to Foyle College. Its only link to its current location is that Sir John Lawrence began his education at the College.

General Comments

Date of Survey

18 August 2014