Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/13/019

Address :
Lord Carson Memorial Statue Stormont Estate Upper Newtownards Road Belfast County Antrim BT4 3XX

Townland:
Ballymiscaw

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Survey 2:
A

Date of Listing:
13/03/1987 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

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:
130-16

IG Ref:
J4004 7493

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Free-standing bronze statue on stone plinth and base, erected in 1933 to the designs of Leonard Stanford Merrifield. Located on an elevated island site at the junction of two avenues crossing the front lawns of Stormont Estate facing south along the principal avenue (HB26/13/013). Figurative cast bronze statue of Lord Edward H. Carson set on carved granite ashlar plinth with three steps to the base in turn set on a circular granite platform with four flights of steps and four eleborate bronze seats. The statue stands 12 feet in height expressing an animated posture and is set on a solid granite plinth c.13 feet in height. Corresponding to the cardinal points are four rectangular bronze relief panels, depicting important events in Carson's political life, with that to the north stating: "ERECTED BY THE / LOYALISTS OF ULSTER / AS AN EXPRESSION OF THEIR LOVE AND / ADMIRATION FOR THE RIGHT HON / THE LORD CARSON OF DUNCAIRN". The circular platform has four elaborate cast bronze seats with nude figures supporting garlands, inscribed "L.S. Merrifield 1933". Setting: Occupying a prominent circular island site to the front of Stormont Parliament buildings (HB26/13/013) forming a roundabout at the junction of two of the main avenues. Roof N/A RWG N/A Walling Granite ashlar Windows N/A

Architects

Merrifield, L S (Sculptor)

Historical Information

The Lord Carson Memorial Statue, a 12ft high bronze statue and 13ft Irish granite plinth located in the Stormont Estate, was unveiled in 1933 following the official opening of the Parliament Buildings (HB26/13/013) in 1932. The statue was erected as a lasting memorial to Sir Edward H. Carson (1854-1935), a prominent Irish lawyer and politician who led the unionist campaign against the Home Rule movement and was a member of the British War Cabinet during the First World War. Carson’s early career was characterised by his meteoric rise from a junior counsel in the 1870s to the Solicitor General for Ireland in 1892. Carson was called to the English bar and was appointed a Queen’s Council in 1894. Carson’s most famous case occurred in 1895 when he successfully led the defence in the libel action brought against the Marquess of Queensbury by the Irish writer, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. Carson entered unionist politics in the late-19th century and became the leader of the Irish Unionist M.P.s at Westminster in 1910. Between 1912 and 1914 Carson led the unionist campaign to resist Home Rule and preserve the union with Britain, a crusade the former lawyer described as ‘the guiding star of his political life.’ Carson’s vociferous rejection of Home Rule was backed up by the Ulster Covenant (a petition of almost half-a-million signatures) and the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1912. However, he was unable to prevent the passing of the Home Rule Bill in May 1914. Home Rule was shelved due to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Carson encouraged the Ulster Volunteers to participate in the war and was subsequently appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1916 and a member of the War Cabinet in 1917. In the aftermath of the Easter Rising of 1916 Carson accepted the partition settlement and subsequently resigned from the Ulster Unionist leadership in 1921. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Carson devoted the remainder of his career to judicial affairs and represented southern unionists in the Irish Free State. Edward Carson died in 1935 and was buried in St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast. Between 1921 and his death Carson returned to Ulster only three times: in 1926 to receive an honorary degree, in 1932 to attend the official opening of Parliament Buildings, and in 1933 to attend the unveiling ceremony of his statue at Stormont (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). The statue of Edward Carson was paid for by public subscription and was designed by Leonard Stanford Merrifield. A Chelsea-based sculptor, Merrifield (1880-1943) was responsible for a number of memorials unveiled in England in the aftermath of the First World War. Merrifield came to the attention of the Northern Ireland Government as a result of his work on war memorials in Comber (1923) and Lurgan (1926). Correspondence between the government and the sculptor records that preliminary work on the statue commenced from as early as 1927. The statue and plinth was originally designed to be 20ft in height and was going be located at the Massey Avenue entrance of the Stormont Estate but due to the intervention of Arnold Thornely the monument was increased in size to 25ft and relocated to the ‘circus’ in front of Parliament Buildings. The bronze statue was cast in 1932 and officially unveiled on 8th July 1933. Edward Carson and his wife attended the opening ceremony and witnessed the unveiling of the monument by the first Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Carson’s friend and political ally, Sir James Craig. Following the Prime Minister’s death in 1940, Merrifield was commissioned to cast the bronze statue of Craig which now stands in the Central Hall of Parliament Buildings (PRONI; Gallagher; DIA). During the Second World War the Northern Ireland government decided to relocate Carson’s statue for its protection. However the decision to uproot the monument was abandoned following Merrifield’s suggestion that the statue could be repaired with the original casts in the event of any damage from falling bombs (PRONI). The First Survey described the Lord Carson Memorial Statue as a ‘statue on square stone base of three different widths and standing on a circular island with steps'.The monument was listed in 1987 and NIEA HB Records note that in 2012 the statue underwent necessary repairs which involved the restoration of the original bronze statue and benches, the renovation of the Irish granite plinth, and the repointing of the plinth’s joints with lime mortar. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI CAB/9/H/5/14 – Stormont Estate papers referring to the statue of Lord Carson (1925-62) 2. First Survey Record – HB26/13/019 (1988) 3. First Survey Image – HB26/13/019 (No Date) 4. NIEA HB Records – HB26/13/019 Secondary Sources 1. Gallagher, J., ‘Stormont: The house on the hill’ Belfast: Booklink, 2008. 2. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie 2. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32310?docPos=1

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance U. Historic Associations V. Authorship W. Northern Ireland/International Interest

Evaluation

Free-standing bronze statue on stone plinth and base, erected in 1933 to the designs of the renowned sculptor Leonard Stanford Merrifield. An accomplished bronze sculpture depicting an animated Lord Carson accompanied by equally impressive bronze panels and seats. It was unveiled in 1933 following the official opening of the Parliament Buildings (HB26/13/013) in 1932. The statue was erected as a lasting memorial to Sir Edward H. Carson (1854-1935), a prominent Irish lawyer and politician who led the unionist campaign against the Home Rule movement and was a member of the British War Cabinet during the First World War. The highly prominent siting of this monument befits the monumental scale of Stormont Parliament building and the wider estate while commemorating a pivotal figure in Northern Ireland's recent history. It has group value with the other listed buildings and statuary within the Stormont estate.

General Comments

Date of Survey

23 January 2014