Views of Nottingham

Pillar of Famous Faces

This pillar with sculptures of the faces of famous historical figures is the primary inspiration behind The Views of Nottingham.

I discovered it while exploring around the Broad Marsh Bus Station. It’s situated in an out of the way place that is primarily designed for kids to play on their skateboards and bikes and to spray the walls with graffiti.

When I first found it I was a bit freaked out. It just seemed to be a rather bizarre thing to be in that out-of-the way location – particularly as none of the people have any connection with Nottingham that I’m aware of. All I could guess is that it was a contemporary construction incorporating sculptures from a demolished building.

I took some photos, posted them on flickr and asked in the Nottingham, UK group if anyone could supply any more information. In short order PeteZab responded, pointing me to the Nottingham21 page on the Montague Burton Heads.

It turned out that my assumptions were correct and the heads came from the Montague Burton store which was demolished when the Broad Marsh area was redeveloped.

This experience made me realise that, despite living in Nottingham for the best part of forty years, there is still lots of things I don’t know about the place and plenty of surprises to be found.

The faces depicted on the pillar (with links to photos on Flickr) are:

• William Shakespeare – Playwright
• Robert Burns – Poet
• General James Wolfe British Army Officer
• Cecil Rhodes – founded the De Beers diamond company and the African state of Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe)
• The Duke of Wellington – General during the Napoleonic Wars
• Horatio Nelson – Navel Officer
• Dr David Livingstone – Explorer
• Captain James Cook – Explorer
• Sir Joshua Reynolds – Artist
• Isaac Newton – Scientist