St John's Gardens
Picture taken on Saturday 13th May 2006, donated by Jonathan P. Neill
Sculptor:
George Herbert Tyson Smith
Material: Westmorland Green Stone
Comment 1: The inscription is in French and English.
The plaque is a good example of how not to clean a monument with high pressure
water.
Comment 2:
The detail of the carving and been lost and the crispness of Tyson Smith's
Trajan lettering has gone.
Comment 3: The lettering is in Tyson Smith's usual Trajan Roman style. Note the letter J, V and W are not found in Trajan Roman, so the letter J is substituted with the letter I with a small serif added to the base. The letter W, in made of two over lapping U's (the symbol V was the capital form of the letter U). Also note the letter U in POUR should be a V to conform to true Trajan Roman style.
Transcript:
TO HER SONS WHO DIED IN CAPTIVITY
IN LIVERPOOL 1772 - 1803 AND WHOSE
BODIES LIE HERE IN THE OLD CEMETERY
OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
FRANCE EVER GRATEFUL
The plaque was unveiled on 11 November 1924 by
both Civil and Religious authorities from both countries.
Speeches were made regarding past enmities and old struggles but saying that
these were now settled
and that their was new friendship between the countries. What is called the
French Prison, was on Great
Howard Street, (named after John Howard, prison reformer). Prisoners of
war were held in the Tower,
which was essentially the town lockup. They were kept in there with all
and sundry. It was relatively easy to escape from.
After that they were kept in powder magazine on Brownlow hill, until
Borough Gaol (French Prison) began to be built in 1786. It was not
completed until after 1810. Although not all French, the 1801 census shows 1786
inhabitants in the prison.
(Information supply by Jo McCann of the Liverpool Society)
Plaques | Tyson Smith's work | Home
View More Pictures:
 (1) |
 (2) |