Manual Ref* SUipIP113 Show 6 images 874
Title*

Prince Alexander Obolensky Memorial
County Suffolk   District Council Ipswich Borough Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Ipswich  Town/Village* Ipswich - Town Centre 
Road St Peters Street 
Precise Location On entrance to Cromwell square car park 
OS Grid Ref TM163445  Postcode IP3 
Previous location(s)  
Setting Roadside  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Harry Gray  Sculptor(s)   

Commissioned by

 Prince Obolensky Memorial Project, launched by James Hehir, chief executive Ipswich Borough Council, 

Design & Constrn period

 2008 

Date of installing

 2009 

Exact date of unveiling

 18th February 2009 

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: Memorial

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
Bust  Bronze  Over life-size 
Plinth  Yorkstone  1.7 high 45 cm wide 
Triangular Base  Yorkstone  1.9 long (2), 1.4 long(1), 65 cm. high 
Plaques  Bronze  35 cm. high 80 long 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Ipswich Borough Council 

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:

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 on rear of bronze, GRAY at front HARRY GRAY; at rear, JH for James Hehir; DS, MW, EA, PG, MC; 
Inscriptions RUGBY LEGEND; Obolensky, a winger, known as the Prince of Pace scored two ‘breathtaking’ tries on his international debut against New Zealand in 1936 bringing England’s first victory over the All Blacks. His second score is called ‘the greatest England try ever’. He once played in an international Rugby trial at Portman Road Football club. WARTIME PILOT; A volunteer RAF pilot in the Second World War, Obolensky’s life was cut short when his Hurricane fighter crash-landed at Martlesham Hearth in 1940. Obolensky is buried in Ipswich Cemetery. The tribute on the grave reads: ‘His undaunted spirit and endearing qualities live forever in the hearts of all who knew him.’ PRINCE ALEXANDER OBOLENSKY A sporting Icon. The Prince came from St Petersburg as baby when his family fled the Russian Revolution in 1917. An Oxford Graduate, Obolensky became a naturalised Englishman. He died near Ipswich aged only 24.  

Description (physical)

 What makes the sculpture remarkable is its success in combining a figurative memorial with telling design. The plinth is broken at the back to create an interesting rhythm and angled forward and up to suggest the sleek aerodynamic designs of the 1930s as well as the forward thrust of Obolensky’s great Twickenham try, translated into heroic terms in the bronze, where bare-chested he holds the ball behind him, his profile and swept hair a heroic version of the man shown in contemporary photographs. The plinth has another function, in allowing for the bronze plaques which record a life and achievements not widely appreciated. 

Description (iconographical)

  

Photographs

 Date taken:  7/3/2009
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  7/3/2009

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 Derek Wyatt MP, ‘Rugby Legend honoured with monument’ 16 February 2009-03-07 http//Derek Wyatt, accessed 07/03/2009; 

Database

 Date entered:  11/3/2009

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke