Manual Ref* NFnrNOR112 Show 5 images 147
Title*

St Benedict
County Norfolk   District Council Norwich City Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Norwich City Council  Town/Village* Norwich 
Road Formerly Wellington Alley 
Precise Location Free standing panel 
OS Grid Ref TG223087  Postcode NR2 
Previous location(s) On former National Provincial bank 
Setting On free-standing panel  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Not known     

Commissioned by

 See below 

Design & Constrn period

 Possibly 1958; re-installed 2012 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Schematic St Benedict

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
St Benedict  Welded steel  H. 3 metres W. 1 metre 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Broadland Housing Association 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: The metal relief sculpture of St Benedict (c.1957) has been re-erected on a panel at the junction of Grapes Hill and St Benedict's.

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions At base: ST BENEDICTUS ABBOT' , at rear 'GRAPES HILL' At top left of its original setting traces of lettering 'NATIONAL PROVINCIAL BANK' 

Description (physical)

 The statue was originally set on the side of the brick Royal Bank of Scotland (originally National Provincial Bank) building, in St Benedict's Street, facing west, away from the city. Now, when seen from the Dereham Road approach, the panel, flanked by its two planters, is aligned with the the end of the city walls, once leading to St Benedict's City Gate. Although largely destroyed in 1793 there were significant remains, finally removed after the war and the bomb damage to the nearby church of St Benedict, whose tower survives. It is an ingenious welded steel frame with two armatures separated by hollow steel circles with the addition of larger elements - the devils and the saint's head and hands. The saint turns to his right so that his haloed head is seen in left profile while he holds his bishop's crosier in one hand and a closed volume of his rule (?) in the other, as the edge of his cope falls across his chest, details that are set off by the new setting as St Benedict faces the city. 

Description (iconographical)

 St Benedict (d.547) is shown in his customary guise as a Bishop while the devils at his feet allude to the legend that he was tempted in the desert. The choice of St Benedict alludes to St Benedicts Gate formerly on the site whose last vestiges were bombed in 1942 while the Norman tower of the church all that remains after bombing is set within the housing on Wellington Green. The sculpture remains a mystery. The National Provincial Bank which had been founded in 1833 remained independent until it merged with the National Westminster Bank in 1968 before both were taken over by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2000. According the archivists at the Royal Bank of Scotland the St Benedicts branch of the National Provincial Bank opened in its new building on 27 October 1957. There is no record of the architect let alone of the sculptor of a statue presumably commissioned by the Bank for its new building. The event was of such relative unimportance that it did not rate a mention in the local Norwich Press. The re-siting follows representations made by Sculpture for Norwich and others to the developers, to Broadland Housing Association and to Norwich City Council. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  24/3/2006
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  30/10/2006

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 BOE I 232 and 327; information from Keith Pollard of Sculpture for Norwich. 

Database

 Date entered:  2/11/2006

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke