Lord Londonderry statue causes controversy in Durham

Jun 8 2009 by Neil McKay, The Journal

“Whichever way it is positioned, we cannot get away from the fact that it does have a rear end.”

Durham City Vision director Harvey Dowdy, said: “During the consultation we held during January, the majority of those who responded were happy with the prospect of relocating the statue so long as it remained within the Market Place itself because they were convinced of the benefits both to the statue and to the Market Place as a whole.

“We are not moving this statue out of bloody mindedness. We believe that moving it will make the Market Place considerably less cluttered and free up space for public performances.

“We believe the statue will be more prominent facing across the Market Place and down Claypath from the top of Silver Street. Unfortunately, whichever way it is facing, the horse’s rear will face the opposite direction. Our studies have shown that more people approach the Market Place from Claypath than they do from the direction of Silver Street.”

Moving the statue is part of a £5m-plus makeover of the Market Place.

The mounted figure of Charles Vane, the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, dominates the Market Place and was a popular meeting place for generations of courting couples.

But when the statue was proposed, opinion was divided between those who respected his military career and others who remembered the colliery owner who sent letters threatening to evict any merchant in Seaham who supplied goods to striking miners. The electro-plated copper statue of Londonderry, portrayed at the age of 42 dressed as a hussar, was unveiled in 1861 at a ceremony attended by Benjamin Disraeli and various military detachments.