Survey Data
Reg No
50100240
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic
Original Use
Monument
In Use As
Monument
Date
1890 - 1910
Coordinates
316448, 233558
Date Recorded
12/08/2016
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding monument to Thomas Parke, erected c. 1900, comprising cast bronze statue standing on square-plan stepped granite plinth on granite base. Plinth has incised lettering 'Surgeon Major T.H. Parke' to front face and cast bronze panel below of scene in Africa in 1887 when Parke saved life of Captain William G. Stairs. Rear of plinth has incised lettering 'Born 1858 Died 1893'. Monument stands within grounds of and to front of entrance to Natural History Museum.
Appraisal
Well-cast bronze figure by Percy Wood (1860-1904), prominently located at the entrance to the Natural History Museum. It commemorates Surgeon Major Thomas H. Parke (1858-93), a Victorian surgeon, explorer and naturalist who acted as surgeon to Henry Stanley's expedition through Africa. The bronze plaque records Parke saving the life of a fellow officer in 1887. The combination of granite and patinated bronze provides interesting tonal variation and the fine craftsmanship in stone and metal is clearly evident.