Jupiter Statue in the Botanical Gardens
JUPITER STATUE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, ROYAL VICTORIA PARK
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1394743
- Date first listed:
- 05-Aug-1975
- List Entry Name:
- Jupiter Statue in the Botanical Gardens
- Statutory Address:
- JUPITER STATUE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, ROYAL VICTORIA PARK
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1394743
- Date first listed:
- 05-Aug-1975
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 15-Oct-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Jupiter Statue in the Botanical Gardens
- Statutory Address 1:
- JUPITER STATUE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, ROYAL VICTORIA PARK
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- JUPITER STATUE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS, ROYAL VICTORIA PARK
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 73914 65584
Details
ROYAL VICTORIA PARK 656-1/28/1432 (South side) Jupiter Statue in the Botanical Gardens
(Formerly Listed as: VICTORIA PARK Jupiter Head) 05/08/75 II*
Colossal bust of Jupiter, on plinth and pedestal. Bust of 1835-1838 by John Osborne (d.1838); plinth of 1861, designed by James Wilson and carved by H Treasure. Limestone bust of Jupiter, almost 1m high, showing a bearded man, hair tied up with fillets, shoulders bare; set on stepped, south-facing plinth approx. 6m high and 1.5m square at base, with keystone motif to centre. No inscription. HISTORY: Osborne was a mason of humble birth, who trained in John Bacon junior's studio. He carved the head of Jupiter, as well as one of the Goddess of Sculpture, after his arrival in Bath: it weighed 6 tons and prompted Walter Savage Landor to remark that "nothing of Michael Angelo's is nobler and nothing of Thorwaldsen's purer. It is colossal." They failed to make Osborne's reputation and formed his destitute widow's only assets on his death. Purchased by Corporation of Bath for £100, Thomas Barker seems to have designed plinths, for which the foundation stones were laid on 9th September 1839 (re Whalley). However, not until Alderman Bush employed James Wilson in 1861 to design a new pedestal was the whole monument erected. This is a remarkable piece of public sculpture, embodying the Romantic creative instinct, and a rare example of colossal Neo-classical sculpture. It is also notable for being executed in Bath stone: demonstration that this material could be safely employed for monumental purposes. Victoria Park was laid out in 1830 on the former Barton Fields, an area of common land and was opened by the Duchess of Kent with her daughter, Princess Victoria, on October 23rd 1830. It was the country's first municipal park. The bust lies within a former quarry to the north-west of the park, laid out by Sir Jerom Murch. SOURCES: Rupert Gunnis, 'Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851' (Revised ed. 1964), 284; R. Whalley, 'The Royal Victoria Park', in Bath History (1994), 147-169. Listing NGR: ST7391465584
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 510146
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 02-Jul-2026 at 07:59:16.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.