South Essex has also always been keen to honour the Queen at every opportunity, with a host of patriotic sculptures, street names, and trees planted over the years.
In Basildon, a bronze sculpture by acclaimed artist Aden Hynes was installed outside the Basildon Centre in St Martin’s Square to mark the platinum Jubilee. The sculpture and commemorative plaque will remain for posterity- demonstrating for generations to come how the town honoured the queen for her 70 years of service.
In Southend a statue of the Queen, created by an Essex sculptor in time for the upcoming jubilee, was unveiled at The Forum in Southend back in 2016.
During a royal visit to the Forum library in Elmer Avenue, the Duke of Kent - the Queen’s first cousin toured the building, before unveiling John Doubleday’s £18,000 clay and bronze sculpture of Her Majesty.
This was not the first time sculptures or statues have gone up in our patch to mark a jubilee.
The most famous is the Queen Victoria statue which was a gift to the people of Southend by Victorian-era mayor Bernard Wiltshire Tolhurst.
Mr Tolhurst made the grand gesture to the community back in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee.
The 20ft tall statue was made in studios in Rome by the celebrated artist Joseph William Swynnerton.
Described as “iconic” - and for good reason - the statue is a monumental work, carved out of the same type of marble used to create the Pantheon, Trajan’s Column and Michaelangelo’s David.
The day the Queen Victoria statue was officially unveiled on Pier Hill was a historic one for the town. Half of Southend was said to have turned out to watch the proceedings.
A beaming Mr Tolhurst addressed the crowds at the unveiling ceremony, with the words: “I trust this statue will remind us and future generations of the men and women of this borough of a good and virtuous sovereign and noble woman.”
His words would ring true as all these years later, in 2022, the statue still stands proudly in Southend, albeit in a slightly different location.
But even such a grandiose gesture as a royal statue couldn’t overshadow what Southend achieved ten years earlier for Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee.
Back in 1887, a four[1]day celebration was held .
On the face of it Southend’s efforts to mark the jubilee were somewhat lacking. Thousands of revellers had poured into the town expecting to see spectacular illuminations and a fantastic firework display.
Instead of a sizzling show of pyrotechnics, however, just 12 rockets were fired into the air over the course of an hour. Crowds trundled out of the town with dampened spirits after such a poor show.
However, things weren’t all bad.
This particular jubilee did leave the town with something to be proud of[1]its first-ever main hospital.
The Queen Victoria Hospital arose from the desire to mark the 1887 jubilee with a public building that would benefit the people of Southend for years to come.
Residents gave generously to the cause and the hospital would open within five years of the jubilee.
More recent jubilees have seen touching tributes to our queen.
In 1977- Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee- a new pub on Canvey was named “The Silver Jubilee”. The watering hole, in Hilton Road, remained open until 2014. The current Miller and Carter in Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, was also called the Silver Jubilee.
In 2002 Wickford by-pass was renamed Golden Jubilee Way in honour of the Queen’s 50 years on the throne. Jubilee Beach in Marine Parade, Southend, was also commissioned in this year to celebrate the monarch’s milestone.
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