Photograph of Sturge (Local Studies. Birmingham Portraits Collection)
Photo of statue, 2006
Engraving of Statue in the Illustrated Times, 1862 (Local Studies. MS BF072)
The Sturge Statue At Five Ways
A statue of Sturge was unveiled in 1862 at Five Ways.
It stands outside the Marriot hotel, and provides important information on Sturge's aims and beliefs. Having been neglected for many years, the statue will be restored and reopened in 2007, a date marking 200 years since the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807.
Carved into stone around the statue are the words 'Peace' 'Temperance' and 'Charity'. Two symbolic angel figures stand guard, one holding a laurel leaf, the other reaching towards the figure of a child, indicating a young slave. A further inscription reads: 'He laboured to bring freedom to the negro slave, the vote to the British workman, and the promise of peace to a war worn world'. This recognises his involvement in Chartism, Antislavery and his attempts to halt international conflicts, such as the Crimean War.
Before the large audience that gathered to see the statue unveiled in 1862, a speech was read stating, "he was a distinguished actor in the work of negro emancipation, in the reclamation of juvenile offenders, in the cause of education, and in numberless other ways he sought to heal the words that sin had made in the framework of society."
