Equestrian statue of Redvers Buller, Exeter

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Equestrian statue of Redvers Buller, Exeter

Monument

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has description | a une description: Equestrian statue of General Sir Redvers Buller and his horse "Biffen", sculpted by Adrian Jones. The statue was commissioned by the Buller Memorial Committee (established in Exeter in October 1901 after Buller's controversial dismissal from the British Army) and was unveiled in the city in 1905. The statue stands at the junction of Hele Road and New North Road, in between Exeter College and Bury Meadow Park.

The statue and its plinth make direct references to Buller's colonial career. The inclusion of Buller's horse Biffen and the line on the plinth, "HE SAVED NATAL", are references to Buller's eventual victory at the relief of Ladysmith on March 1st, 1900 during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. Other inscriptions on the plinth note the locations where Buller was involved in colonial conflicts, including India, China, Canada, Ashanti (Ghana), Sudan and South Africa.

The statue of Buller is unusual in that it is a rare case of an equestrian statue depicting a military general located outside of London. Most statues of this type (which typically depicted either a monarch or a military figure) were usually installed in the metropole at the time, and the statue of Stapleton Cotton in Cheshire is probably the closest artistic counterpart to Buller's statue. Jones had considerable experience in sculpting equestrian statues beforehand, producing works such as Duncan's Horses in 1892 and Persimmon in 1895.; Please also note that the Buller statue is especially sensitive as a site of memory due to a tragic accident that took place in June 2017, when Tom Callaway, a young 18 year old from the Exeter area, died after falling from the statue and sustaining serious injuries. Tom's obituary has been included below in his memory.
was commissioned by | a été commandé par: Buller Memorial Committee
funded by | financé par: Private funding (subscription); Private funding (donation/grant)
has current owner | est actuellement possédée par: Public (City/Town)
managed by | dirigé par: Exeter City Council
has current location | a pour localisation actuelle: Exeter; United Kingdom
was classified by | a été inscrite, classée, protégée par le biais de: Grade II

depicts | figure: Buller, Redvers
shows visual item | présente l'item visuel: man; horse
consists of | consiste en: bronze
was produced by | a été produit par: Jones, Adrian; St Aubyn, John, 1st Baron St Levan

has inscription | a une inscription: Left side:
REDVERS BULLER
V.C. C.C.B. C.C.M.C
OF DOWNES; Front:
1859-1900
INDIA CHINA
CANADA ASHANTI
EGYPT SOUDAN
SOUTH AFRICA

HE SAVED NATAL; Right side:
ERECTED BY HIS COUNTRYMEN
AT HOME AND BEYOND THE SEAS
1905
consists of | consiste en: granite

is referred to by | est référencé par: Tom Callaway's obituary; Tommy Maddinson, 'Colonial Statues, Public Space and Masculinity in Postcolonial Britain', Cast in Stone blog post, December 12 2023; Wikipedia; Historic England; Exeter Memories; Art UK; Peter Donaldson, Remembering the South African War: Britain and the Memory of the Anglo-Boer War, from 1899 to the Present (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2013) - Open Access

Cast in Stone

Statues and memories of empire in post-imperial France and Britain

Equestrian statue of Redvers Buller, Exeter

Monument

Statue | La statue

Plinth | Le socle

Events