Statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor B. G., M. D. at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Bronze statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor BG, MD, situated at the southern entrance to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1452265
Date first listed:: 01-Dec-1987
List Entry Name:: Statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor B. G., M. D. at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Missing Pieces Project

Share your view of unique places.

Add your contribution

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

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

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1452265
Date first listed:: 01-Dec-1987
Date of most recent amendment:: 14-Nov-2017
List Entry Name:: Statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor B. G., M. D. at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Location Description:: The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Haig Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 4PQ

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Surrey
District:: Surrey Heath (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: SU8719460808

Summary

Bronze statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor BG, MD, situated at the southern entrance to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Reasons for Designation

The statue of Sir James Robert McGrigor is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* An elegant Victorian bronze statue atop a granite base; * By noted sculptor Matthew Nobel who was a leading British portrait sculptor; * Cast by Robertson and Cottam who were noted for their casting of large statues.

Historic interest:

* As a memorial to an individual largely responsible for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps who served in the Peninsular War (1807-1814) under the Duke of Wellington.

Group value:

* Within the estate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, notably in proximity to the Grade II listed Entrance Lodge (Staff College Gate) and Grade II listed Staff College.

History

Sir James Robert McGrigor is known to history as the Director General of the Army Medical Department (1815-1851) and served with the British armies in Holland, the West Indies, India, Egypt, the Walcheren Campaign and the Peninsular War. In 1811 he was appointed Surgeon-General for the Duke of Wellington's army in Spain and Portugal during the Peninsular Wars (1808-1814). McGrigor served as Director-General of the Army Medical Service (1815-1851) and did much to reform that department. He introduced the stethoscope in 1821, set up field hospitals for those injured in action and generally improved the standards of cleanliness and hygiene. in 1814, the Duke of Wellington wrote that McGrigor was "One of the most industrious, able and successful public servants I have ever met with."

McGrigor's statue was erected at Chelsea Hospital on 18 November 1865, paid for by public subscription, with the chief contributors being Medical Officers of the Army. The sculptor, Matthew Nobel (1817-1876), was a leading British portrait sculptor. He is remembered for carving numerous monumental figures and busts including work memorializing Victorian-era royalty and statesmen including Robert Peel (Parliament Square, London), John Franklin (Waterloo Place, London) and Manchester's Wellington Monument. Nobel's statue of McGrigor dates to 1865 and was cast by Robertson and Cottam in Battersea, London, who were noted for their casting of large statues.

In 1909 the statue was moved to a small courtyard on Atterbury Street, Westminster. The statue was moved again in 2002 to its current location at Sandhurst.

Details

The statue comprises a bronze standing figure in military dress uniform, with decorations, on pedestal of pink Scottish granite with a grey granite plinth. A sword hangs on his left side and his right hand holds a leather wallet, presumably containing medical equipment.

Sources

None.

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.