Statue of Robert Clive, London

The sculpture in 2010

A Grade II-listed bronze statue of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, by John Tweed, is located in King Charles Street, Whitehall, London. The statue was unveiled in 1912 outside Gwydyr House, also in Whitehall, and was moved to its current location in 1916.

On the west face of the plinth are Clive's surname and the year of his birth and death (1725–1774). The remaining three sides have bronze reliefs depicting events in his life: the Siege of Arcot in 1751, the eve of the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765.

On 8 February, 1907, Sir William Forwood wrote to The Times noting that there were no monuments to Clive in London or India, and that even his grave, in the churchyard of Moreton Say, Shropshire, was unmarked. The Conservative politician Lord Curzon supported Forwood's complaint and a Clive Memorial Fund committee was established, with Curzon publicising the fundraising efforts and progress with further letters to the editor of the Times. The fund raised between £5,000 and £6,000 to erect memorials to Clive in London and India.

John Tweed was commissioned to start work on the London statue and exhibited a sketch model at the Royal Academy 1910. A smaller version of the finished statue, also cast in bronze, is now part of the collection of the Tate in London. Other depictions of Clive by Tweed include a memorial tablet, erected by public subscription, in 1919, in the south choir aisle of Westminster Abbey and a marble statue at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India.

See also

• Bali Bombings Memorial, London, located nearby

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons