The statue of Sir Walter Raleigh wearing a very long cloak indeed
The statue of Sir Walter Raleigh was unveiled by
HRH the Duke of Kent in 2006 and occupies a focal point in the Great
Elizabethan’s home village near All Saints Church. Its origin was not without
controversy.
(l-r): HRH The Duke of Kent, Steve Baker, who was chairman of East Budleigh Parish Council, Hugo Swire MP, sculptor Vivien Mallock
East Budleigh residents had hoped that an earlier
statue of Sir Walter, originally sited on Whitehall Green, would be relocated
to their village.
Sir Walter, taller than most men, then and now
They were disappointed when it was moved instead
to the former Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
Sir
Walter unveiled
Then local MP Hugo Swire stepped in to secure £30,000
in funding from British American Tobacco to ensure that the village would have
its own statue.
Hugo Swire MP and Cllr Christine Channon
There were strong objections from some locals to
the source of the cash, given the growth of the anti-smoking lobby in recent
times. But the MP was unabashed. "If there are any objections to this from
people who think we shouldn’t do this because its sponsored by British American
Tobacco, I think I shall emigrate,” he was reported as saying.
"I cannot believe that there
can be people around who would be so churlish and politically correct to assume
because we’ve got sponsorship from a major international company we should
somehow turn it down. I just would despair at that point. We want the statue,
they’ve been hugely generous - thank you, thank you, thank you."
Sir Walter Raleigh
on Independence Day
The
Great Elizabethan was highly regarded in the USA. The American Navy named a
warship after him in 1776.
During the American War of Independence one of the 13 ships in the Patriots’ Navy was named USS Raleigh, a move which must have riled the British government.
The seal of the American state of New Hampshire shows the USS Raleigh.
Above: Hayes Barton Baptist Church
Not
only did the Americans name the capital of North Carolina after East Budleigh’s
most famous son: the city of Raleigh NC has two districts named in the 1920s to
honour Sir Walter. One is called Hayes Barton, the other is called
Budleigh.
Both districts are rather
exclusive!
The
face of a hero as created by Vivien Mallock FRBS
This maquette was kindly lent by the sculptor in
2015 for display in Fairlynch Museum’s Sir Walter Ralegh Room
Whatever
the controversial element of the statue’s funding, the sculptor has positive
memories of the commission.
'I recall with great pleasure the commission to
sculpt Sir Walter in East Budleigh, and the enthusiasm for him shown by all those
who attended the unveiling,’ Vivien Mallock told me earlier this year.
I am most grateful to Cllr Channon for making photos of the unveiling available to me.
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