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A double-life-sized bust of Coulson swathed in a cloak set upon a pedestal, over which his cloak hangs down. The whole is set upon a base with drinking troughs to the front and rear. Newly carved lion heads are attached over each basin. Colonel William Lisle Blenkinsop Coulson was a prominent figure on Tyneside, known for his 'untiring efforts for the kindly treatment of animals' and for the unusual plaid in which he habitually dressed. He was a founding member of the Humanitarian League, formed in England in 1891. The league opposed both corporal and capital punishment; and was also a forerunner to the modern animal rights movement, campaigning for the banning of all hunting for sport, and vivisection. The Humanitarian League was discontinued in 1919.
Title
Monument to William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson (1840–1911)
Date
1914
Medium
bronze, sandstone, concrete & granite
Measurements
H 110 x W (?) x D (?) cm;
Plinth: H 260 x W 400 x D 120 cm
Accession number
NE1_SD_S047
Acquisition method
commissioned by public subscription
Work type
Water fountain, trough or pump
Owner
Newcastle City Council
Custodian
Newcastle City Council
Work status
extant
Listing status
Grade II (England and Wales)
Unveiling date
27th May 1914
Listing date
17/12/71
Access
at all times
Signature/marks description
base, rear: A. RECHBERG 1912; base, left: ALEXIS RUDIER / FONDEUR PARIS
Inscription description
pedestal, front: WILLIAM LISLE BLENKINSOPP / COULSON / 1841–1911 / ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION / IN MEMORY OF HIS EFFORTS / TO ASSIST THE WEAK AND DEFENCELESS / AMONG MANKIND AND IN THE / ANIMAL WORLD.; pedestal, rear: 'WHAT IS REALLY NEEDED IS AN ALLROUND / EDUCATION OF THE HIGHER IMPULSES / TRUE MANLINESS, / JUSICE, AND PITY. / TO TRY TO PROMOTE THESE HAS BEEN / MY HUMBLE BUT EARNEST ENDEAVOUR, AND UNTIL / THEY ARE MORE GENUINELY AROUSED, / THE LEGISLATURE IS USELESS, / FOR IT IS THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE LAWS' / (WLBC) / UNVEILED 27TH MAY 1914, / BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE / JOHNSTON WALLACE, LORD MAYOR. / HERBERT SHAW. SHERRIF. / A. M. OLIVER, TOWN CLERK.