Sunday 13th September, 2009
The Statue with the Shiny Foot
In Mesnes Park, near the centre of Wigan, is a statue coated with an unprepossessing green verdigris – except for its right foot which gleams with the eloquent splendour of highly polished bronze.
This anomaly is the result of hopeful caresses from thousands of children who have responded to the local belief which surmises that good luck will befall anyone who rubs the statue's right foot.
This custom is so frequently practised that the foot began to erode. Consequently, the public was asked to rub the left one instead. This appeal went unheeded as everyone knew which foot was the lucky one.
Money was spent on a repair, but, as can be seen from the picture, the foot is once more beginning to wear through.
Sir Francis Sharp Powell, baronet
Sir Francis Sharp Powell was born in Wigan in 1827. He was the town's MP from 1857 to 1859 and again from 1885 to 1910.
In 1907 it was decided by a committee of “leading men”, including the Mayor, Councillor James O'Donahue, that a statue would be erected to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Francis Sharp Powell's first election as Wigan's Member of Parliament.
It was the design of Ernest George Gillick, a Bradford born sculptor who studied at the Royal College of Art, which was eventually chosen. It was said to be “a most artistic work, admirably proportioned and full of dignity and repose”.
Bronze panels on the sides of the statue's pedestal represent “Powell's work in education, housing and sanitation”.
Money was raised by public subscription and the statue was unveiled on 4th November, 1910. At that time, it was only the second statue in Britain to have been erected to a living person.
Francis Sharp Powell, The Early Years
Francis Sharp Powell, Politician
Francis Sharp Powell, Bradford's Benefactor
Francis Sharp Powell, Wigan's Benefactor
Francis Sharp Powell, summary part 1