Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 7.djvu/272

 264 NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. vu. apro. 5,1913. left 3,00<K. for the purpose. The statue was unveiled by the Marquis of Lome (Duke of Argyll) on 29 June, 1888. Ayr.—The Wallace Tower in the High Street, in which the Scottish patriot was, according to tradition, confined, was taken down in 1835, and the present Gothic build- ing erected on its site. The old clock and bells are retained, and on the front of the building is placed a statue of Wallace by Mr. Burn, a local self-taught sculptor. There is also another statue of Wallace in the front of the dwelling-house which now occupies the site of the ancient courthouse. Wallacestone, near Falkirk.—Formerly a rough, unhewn stone marked the spot where Wallace stood to view the approach of the English army on the eve of the Battle of Falkirk. This stone is now replaced by an obelisk 10 ft. high, which, with a flagstaff, is enclosed by iron railings. Elderslie, Renfrewshire.—On 28 Sept., 1912, a monument erected to the memory of Sir William Wallace, near his birth- place, was unveiled by Sir Thomas Glen- Coats, Bart. It is estimated that about 5,000 persons were present at the cere- mony. The memorial consists of a granite column about 40 ft. high, rising from a hexagonal podium, and surmounted by a crown. On the front of the column which is entwined with laurel wreathing is carved the Wallace sword. It is erected upon a broad stone platform surrounded by a low parapet, and is approached from the main road by a flight of steps. The site on which the monument is placed was given by the present Laird of Elderslie, Mr. A. A. Hagart Speirs. The foundation stone was laid by the Lady Anne Speirs on 15 June, 1912. Dryburgh.—On a steep, wooded hill overlooking the river, in the vicinity of Dryburgh Abbey, is a colossal statue of Wallace carved in red sandstone. It stands considerably over 20 ft. high, and can be seen from a long distance. The warrior is represented in armour, with right hand steadying a huge, two-handed sword, and left hand resting upon a shield. It is related that the Earl of Buchan placed the order for the statue in the hands of "a local stonecutter, who was absolutely ignorant of the art of sculpture, but who undertook the task without fear, and crowned the eminence with his best handicraft." Bridge of Allan.—Of the Wallace Monu- ment on the Abbey Crag I shall be glad to obtain particulars from some kind helper. See also 10 S. xi. 442. Gordon Memorials. Old Brompton, Chatham.—In 1890 a bronze statue representing General Gordon in Oriental dress, seated upon a fully capari- soned camel, was erected on the Esplanade by the Corps of the Royal Engineers. It was executed by the late Mr. E. Onslow Ford, R.A. The monument was unveiled by King Edward VII. (then Prince of Wales) on 19 May, 1890. A replica has since been erected at Khartoum. Southampton.—A memorial to General Gordon has been erected in Queen's Park. It consists of a clustered pillar finishing with a richly ornamented capital and cross. On the front the base is thus inscribed :— Major-General Charles George Gordon, C.B., Royal Engineers, Soldier, Administrator, Philanthropist. Born at Woolwich, January 28th, 1833. Slain at Khartoum, January 26th, 1885. His last letter to his sister closed with the words: | "I am quite happy, thank God, and like Lawrence, | I have tried to do my duty." At the back and sides are recorded the particulars of place and date of Gordon's principal achievements. Gravesend.—In the Ragged School, near the corner in which General Gordon used regularly to teach his class of boys on Sun- days, a tablet was unveiled by General Sir R. S. S. Baden-Powell on 20 April, 1910. It was presented by the Council of the London Ragged School Union. Aberdeen.—In front of the Art Gallery Buildings is a life-size bronze statue of General Gordon, placed on a pedestal of red granite. It was erected by the Gordon Clan in 1888. On the pedestal is inscribed a sentence from one of the last messages received from Khartoum before the General's death : "I have done my best for the honour of my country." London.—Besides the statue in Trafalgar Square (see 10 S. ix. 103) there is a cenotaph in the north aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral. It consists of a huge sarcophagus, on which is placed a recumbent figure of General Gordon. This memorial was executed by the late Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, R.A. On 9 June, 1892, a memorial of Gordon was placed by the Royal Engineers over the belfry door at the west end of Westminster Abbey. It is the work of the late Mr. E. Onslow Ford, R.A., and consists of a bronze head in high relief, supported on a bracket, with an inscribed shield below. On the house in which Gordon was born —29, The Common, Woolwich—a tablet