Birmingham statues removed to enable redevelopment works to complete

Boulton, Watt and Murdoch

Two of Birmingham’s best known statues are being temporarily removed from their locations to enable city centre redevelopment work to be completed.

Preparations to remove Boulton, Watt and Murdoch on Broad Street will begin later this month to enable further work on the Arena Central and Centenary Square schemes to take place, while Antony Gormley’s Iron: Man is expected to move in early September, as the next phase of regeneration works around Centenary Square and Paradise begins.

Both pieces of artwork will be placed into storage but will return to public view in late 2018.

Birmingham Museums Trust is responsible for both of the public artworks and cares for them on behalf of Birmingham City Council.

The Birmingham Museums’ Collections Care team have overseen the consultation and appointment of Allelys, and conservation specialist Ian Clark Restoration, to undertake the removal and transportation of the statues.

Experts from Birmingham Museums will be involved throughout the process to ensure the artworks are conserved and stored safely at a secure location.

Rob Lewis, Collections Care Manager at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “The statues are an important part of the city’s collection and we are pleased to oversee the plans to ensure the two artworks are cared for during this process.

“We look forward to welcoming them back in the future, so the public can enjoy them once more and learn about Birmingham’s industrial heritage.”

Boulton, Watt and Murdoch is the work of William Bloye, formerly head of sculpture at Birmingham School of Art, and sculptor Raymond Forbes-Kings. The statue, which has long been a fixture in Broad Street, depicts the three pioneering figures of the industrial revolution discussing engine plans. Made of bronze with a gold finish, the larger-than-life size figures stand on a pedestal of Portland stone.

The three men pioneered the industrial revolution in the late 18th century and are remembered for their role in helping to establish the city’s industrial heritage. James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine and William Murdoch’s invention of gas lighting have made them famous throughout the world. Matthew Boulton, entrepreneur and industrialist, harnessed their talents in a company that made everything from tableware and copper coinage to steam engines. His home, Soho House, in Handsworth is now a museum. All three men are buried in St Mary’s Church, Handsworth, known as the ‘Westminster Abbey of the Industrial Revolution’.

Iron: Man was created by renowned sculptor Antony Gormley, best known for the Angel of the North, and stands prominently in Victoria Square. Cast at Firth Rixon Castings in Willenhall, the statue also has links to the city’s industrial heritage as it represents the traditional skills of the people of Birmingham and the Black Country.

Erected in March 1993, the sculpture, which weighs six tonnes, was a gift to the city from the Trustee Savings Bank. It was originally named Untitled, but became known as Iron Man by residents, and so Gormley requested for its name to be formally changed to its current title.

The sculptor has given his consent for the statue to be removed.

He said: “Birmingham, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, is made by the extraordinary number of its citizens who were, and continue to be, skilled engineers, foundrymen and ironworkers. Iron: Man was an attempt to ask a material question: what will the womb/crucible of the industrial revolution produce – what kind of collective or individual body? This question is still open and relevant. I am proud that Iron: Man will return to its place in Victoria Square asking questions about the future.”

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close