# Thomas Brock

Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA (1 March 1847 – 22 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most famous work is the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. Other commissions included the redesign of the effigy of Queen Victoria on British coinage, the massive bronze equestrian statue of Edward, the Black Prince, in City Square, Leeds and the completion of the statue of Prince Albert on the Albert Memorial.

## Biography

Brock was born on 1 March 1847 in Worcester. He was the only son of a painter and decorator and attended the Government School of Design in Worcester, after which he undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley and also enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools, where he won a gold medal for sculpture in 1869. He met and befriended Frederic, Lord Leighton, whose emphasis on realism and naturalism in sculpture led Brock to become part of the New Sculpture movement and to develop his talent for sympathetic and realistic portraiture. After Foley's sudden death in 1874, Brock finished several of his commissions, including the monument to Daniel O'Connell in Dublin and a large bronze equestrian statue of Lord Canning for Kolkata. It was his completion of Foley's statue of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial which first brought Brock to prominence and secured his position as an establishment sculptor. He also assisted in the casting of Lord Leighton's greatly influential 1877 sculpture An Athlete Wrestling with a Python.
Brock was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1883 and became a full member in 1891. He was a founding member, and the first president, of the Society of British Sculptors.
Brock's group The Moment of Peril (now in the garden of Leighton House) was followed by The Genius of Poetry, at the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. A plaster model for Eve was shown at the Royal Academy in 1898; a marble version (1900) is in the collection of the Tate and Brock also cast some smaller bronze replicas and other imaginative works that mark his development. His portrait works include busts, such as those of Lord Leighton and Queen Victoria, statues, such as Sir Richard Owen and Henry Philpott, bishop of Worcester, and sepulchral monuments such as that of Lord Leighton in St Paul's Cathedral.
Brock made statues of Victoria to celebrate her golden and diamond jubilees and also designed the depiction of her "veiled" or "widowed" head, used on all gold, silver and bronze coinage between 1893 and 1901.
In 1901 Brock won the commission to make a colossal equestrian statue of Edward the Black Prince for Leeds City Square. The same year, he was given perhaps his most significant commission, the vast multi-figure Imperial Memorial to Queen Victoria, to be erected in front of Buckingham Palace. The unveiling of this memorial took place on 16 May 1911, and according to legend King George V was so moved by the excellence of the memorial that he called for a sword and knighted Brock on the spot. In any event, it was on the same day that the Lord Chamberlain’s Office notified The London Gazette that the king had ordered that Brock be appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
From 1914 to 1919 Brock returned to the post of president of the Society of British Sculptors.
Brock married in 1869 and had eight children. He died in London on 22 August 1922 and is buried at Mayfield, East Sussex.

## Public monuments
### 1875–1889

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
| More images | Richard Baxter | St Mary's, Kidderminster | 1875 | Statue on pedestal | Marble and granite | | Grade II | Q26392189 | Originally in the Bull Ring, Kidderminster and moved to its present site in March 1967. |
| More images | William Rathbone V | Sefton Park, Liverpool | 1877 | Statue on pedestal with plaques | Portland stone & bronze | | Grade II | Q26333129 | Statue by John Henry Foley, pedestal by Brock |
| More images | A Moment of Peril | Rosenborg Castle Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark | 1880 | Sculpture group | Bronze | | | Q57542450 | Replica of the original in the gardens of the Leighton House Museum in London. |
| More images | Statue of Robert Raikes | Victoria Embankment Gardens, London | 1880 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | Grade II | Q19967451 | |
| More images | Sir Rowland Hill | Vicar Street, Kidderminster | 1881 | Statue on circular pedestal | Marble and granite | | Grade II | Q26392153 | |
| | Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet | Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai | 1884 | Statue | Marble | | | | Moved in 1965 from north end of Oval, Mumbai |
| More images | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, London | 1884 | Bust | Marble | | | | |
| More images | William Menelaus | National Museum Cardiff | 1884 | Bust | Marble | 72.4cm | | | |
| More images | Colin Minton Campbell | London Road, Stoke-on-Trent | 1887 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | 5.05m high | | | |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Shire Hall, Worcester | 1887 | Statue on pedestal | Marble and granite | | Grade II | Q26669257 | |
| More images | Statue of Henry Bartle Frere | Whitehall Gardens, London | 1888 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | 3.4m tall | Grade II | Q21286428 | |

### 1890–1899

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, South Africa | 1890 | Statue on pedestal | Granite pedestal | | | Q20614583 | |
| More images | Daniel O'Connell | St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, Australia | Erected 1891 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze | | | | |
| More images | Bishop Henry Philpott | Worcester Cathedral | 1892 | Seated statue on pedestal | Marble and stone | | | | |
| More images | James Douglas, Earl of Angus | Douglas, South Lanarkshire | 1892 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze | | Category A | Q17568868 | |
| More images | Lord Arthur Hervey | Wells Cathedral | post-1894 | Chest tomb with effigy & putti | Marble and stone | | Grade I | | |
| | Richard Owen | Natural History Museum, London | 1896 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and marble | | | | |
| More images | Memorial to Sir Augustus Harris | Catherine St. facade of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | 1897 | Wall mounted drinking fountain and sculpture | Granite and bronze | | Grade I | | Memorial architect: Sidney R. J. Smith |
| More images | William Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr | Upper Thomas Street, Merthyr Tydfil | 1898 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | | Grade II | Q29489929 | |
| More images | Henry Tate | Tate Britain | 1898 | Bust | Bronze | 533 x 584 x 356mm | | | |
| More images | Thomas Hughes | Rugby School | 1899 | Statue on pedestal | | | | | |

### 1900–1909

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Victoria Square, Birmingham | 1901, recast 1951 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | | Q47460184 | Recast by William Bloye from Brock's original marble statue in 1951 |
| More images | Statue of Queen Victoria | Grand Avenue, Hove | Unveiled 1901 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and marble | | Grade II | Q26482744 | |
| More images | Lord Frederic Leighton memorial | St Paul's Cathedral, London | 1902 | Effigy on pedestal & plinth with supporting figures | Bronze and coloured marbles | | | | |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Carlton House Terrace, London | Unveiled 1902, relocated 1971 | Statue | Marble | 1.9m tall | | Q19927909 | |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Bitts Park, Carlisle | 1902 | Statue on pedestal & steps | Bronze and granite | | Grade II | Q26513391 | |
| | Royal Scots Fusiliers memorial | Burns Statue Square, Ayr | 1902 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | | Category B | Q17834558 | |
| More images | Edward, the Black Prince | Leeds City Square | 1903 | Equestrian statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | | Grade II* | Q17533834 | |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Belfast City Hall. | 1903 | Statue on pedestal and steps with sculptures | Marble, Portland stone, bronze | | Grade A | Q17778520 | |
| More images | Edward James Harland | Belfast City Hall | 1903 | Statue on pedestal | Stone | | | Q17778453 | |
| More images | William Ewart Gladstone | St John's Gardens, Liverpool | 1904 | Statue on pedestal, relief panel with 2 statues at base | Bronze | | Grade II | Q26333153 | |
| More images | William Ewart Gladstone | North transept, Westminster Abbey, London | 1904 | Statue on pedestal | Marble | | | | |
| More images | Sir John Everett Millais | Tate Britain, London | 1905 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and Portland stone | 6.7m tall | Grade II | Q27080819 | |
| More images | Sir Henry Tate | Brixton Oval, London | 1905 | Bust on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | Grade II | Q27087718 | |
| More images | Statue of Queen Victoria | Queen's Park, Bangalore | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Marble and sandstone | | | Q22116770 | |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Queens Gardens, Brisbane, Australia | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | | | |
| More images | General John Nicholson | Royal School Dungannon, County Tyrone | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | Grade B+ | Q17861889 | Originally erected in Kolkata, moved to Delhi then relocated to Dungannon in 1960. |

### 1910–1919

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
| More images | Statue of Sir Henry Irving | Charing Cross Road, London | 1910 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and Portland stone | | Grade II | Q18162015 | |
| | Edward VII | King Edward VII Galleries, British Museum | 1911 | Bust | Gilded bronze | 77cm by 78.3cm | | | Marble copy in Buckingham Palace |
| More images | Victoria Memorial, London | The Mall, London | Unveiled 1911, completed 1924 | Sculpture on pillar with statues and fountains | Marble, bronze, Portland stone | | Grade I | Q1333411 | |
| More images | William Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr | Aberdare Park, Aberdare | 1913 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | | Grade II | Q29489480 | |
| More images | Navigation | Admiralty Arch, London | 1908–1913 | Wall-mounted statue | Portland stone | | Grade I | | |
| More images | Gunnery | Admiralty Arch, London | 1908–1913 | Wall-mounted statue | Portland stone | | Grade I | | |
| More images | Statue of Captain James Cook | The Mall, London | 1914 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and Portland stone | | Grade II | Q17514442 | |
| | Joseph Lister | Westminster Abbey, London | 1915 | Portrait medallion | Marble | | | | |
| More images | Edward VII | Queen's Park, Toronto | 1919 | Equestrian statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | | Q122417547 | Originally erected in Delhi, India, relocated to Canada in 1969 as a gift of the government of India. |

### 1920 and later

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Type | Material | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
| More images | Titanic Memorial, Belfast | Belfast City Hall | 1920 | Statue group on pedestal | Stone | | Q7809806 | |
| More images | Edward VII | Macquarie Street, Sydney, Australia | 1921 | Equestrian statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | | Brock won the commission in 1915, but the work was not finished and delivered until 1921. |
| More images | Queen Victoria | Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, India | 1921 | Statue on pedestal | Marble | | Q92360284 | Completed 1917, unveiled 1921 |
| More images | Captain Charles Grant Seely | St Olave's Church, Gatcombe, Isle of Wight. | 1922 | Sculpture on box tomb | Marble and stone | | Q93239404 | Brock's final completed work. |
| More images | Memorial to Joseph Lister | Portland Place, London | 1924 | Bust on column with sculptures | Bronze and granite | Grade II | Q21541736 | |
| More images | War memorial | Queen's University, Belfast | 1924 | Statue group on pedestal | Bronze and granite | | Q66459168 | |
| More images | Joseph Lister | National Portrait Gallery, London | 1927 | Bust | Bronze | | | Cast 1927 from a 1912–13 plaster work. |
| More images | Robert Raikes | Gloucester | 1930 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | | | A copy of Brock's 1880 statue in London |

### Other works

* Equestrian bronze A Moment of Peril, 1880, now in the collection of Tate Britain.
* Marble statue on a pedestal of Sorabjee Shapurjee Bengallee, 1898, south-east corner of the Oval, Fort, Mumbai
* The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds several bronze castings made from the original 1901 clay models of the Victoria Memorial plus later, small-scale, versions of the supporting groups that differ from those on the completed monument.
* Marble bust for India of Darasha Ruttonjee Chichgur, 1903, current location unknown
* Bronze statue of Queen Victoria, erected 1904 at Cawnpore and now in the Uttar Pradesh State Museum, Lucknow. Thought to be a cast of the design Brock used for his statues of the Queen at Agra, Hove, Brisbane and Carlise.
* Statue of Queen Victoria, Agra, 1905, removed to storage in Mathura after the 1947 independence of India. The statue was originally on a pedestal with bronze figures of Truth and Justice at the base and located on a marble platform in an ornamental lake. The supporting figures are now missing.
* Marble bust of Sir Cowasjee Jehangir, 1915, Jehangir Public Hall, India
* Marble seated statue on a pedestal of Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, shown at the Royal Academy in 1916 and subsequently erected near the Victoria Terminus in Mumbai
* Statue of George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe, erected 1919, inside the entrance to the Science Institute College, Mumbai
* Statue of Thomas Gainsborough at the Royal Academy in Burlington House, London.
* Bust of Henry Lee, in the hall of the Royal College of Surgeons, London
* Busts of Henry W. Longfellow at Grand Pre, Nova Scotia
* Busts of Michael Faraday and Frederic Leighton in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.