Public art: Statue of Sir Robert Peel - Edgbaston

Designer: Peter Hollins

Sir Robert Peel (1788 - 1850) was a Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice (1834 - 1835 and 1841 - 1846).  He is regarded as the founding father of the modern British Police force.  Hence cops being nicknamed Peelers. The statue dates to 1855, and was originally on Congreve Street. It was moved to Council House Square (now Victoria Square) in 1873. It was later moved to Calthorpe Park in Edgbaston in 1926. The statue was moved to it's current site in 1963, but the original plinth remains in Calthorpe Park.

Where? Outside of Tally Ho! West Midlands Police - Learning & Development Centre - Pershore Road, Edgbaston

Statue of Sir Robert Peel outside Tally Ho! (November 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown

The former Robert Peel plinth in Calthorpe Park is close to Edward Road in Edgbaston. It has been here since 1926-7, but without the statue since 1963.

Original Robert Peel plinth at Calthorpe Park (December 2010). Photography by Elliott Brown

The statue of Robert Peel was originally located at the junction of Congreve Street and Ann Street (Colmore Row) from 1855. It was on a granite plinth reaching a height of 6 metres and surrounded by railings, this was also designed by Hollins, and was meant to represent the repeal of the Corn Laws. It was re-sited in 1873 to Council House Square outside of the Town Hall (the railings were later removed), where it remained until 1926. When a lorry hit the head of the statue, with a gas lamp, it was repaired, and relocated to Calthorpe Park in Edgbaston.

Public domain image of the Robert Peel statue in Council House Square after 1873 (late Victoria Square from 1901 onwards).

The Birmingham Civic Society is proposing to find a new more suitable site for the statue of Peel and his plinth (long since abandoned in Calthorpe Park). Perhaps somewhere in the City Centre.