Charles Dickens statue to be unveiled in Portsmouth

Feb 7 – The first Charles Dickens statue in the UK will be unveiled later, on what would have been his 202nd birthday.

 

The bronze statue of the writer surrounded by books will be placed in Guildhall Square in Portsmouth, the city in which he was born.

 

Over 100 invited guests, including 40 members of the Dickens family, will attend.

 

One of the youngest members, nine-year-old Oliver Dickens, will help unveil the £140,000 statue.

 

Dickens stipulated that when he died there should be no memorial to his life, apart from his published works.

 

A tale of one city

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on 7 February 1812 and spent the first three years of his life in the city before moving to London and then Kent Actress Gillian Anderson, who played Miss Havisham in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations, is a patron of the statue fund and said she was "surprised" Portsmouth did not already have a statue of Dickens

However, professor Tony Pointon, chair of the Charles Dickens statue committee said the event marked a "wonderful day for Portsmouth".

 

He said: "When we had the idea 20 years ago, we knew the statue had to be in his place of birth.

 

"Finally after years of fundraising Charles Dickens and the city are both getting what they deserve."

'Richness of his imagination'

 

Mark Charles Dickens, the writer's great, great, grandson, said the Dickens family was "delighted" that a statue would "at long last" be erected in the UK.

 

"This is the culmination of years of hard work by many dedicated people," he said.

 

"We really hope that this magnificent statue will stimulate and inspire future generations to discover the genius of his writing and his passionate campaign for social justice."

 

The statue was made by Oxfordshire sculptor Martin Jennings, whose previous subjects include John Betjeman at St Pancras Station, London, and Philip Larkin in Hull.

 

Mr Jennings said he wanted the statue to "express Dickens's energy, the richness of his imagination and the abundance of his output".

 

Although there are Dickens statues overseas, including Philadelphia and Sydney, this will be the first full-sized statue of the writer in Britain.

 

Portsmouth's Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum will open to the public for free on Friday to "celebrate" the new statue.

 

BBC