The Curse of Cromwell: Warrington's Statue of Oliver Cromwell

Abstract

The revision of the historical reputation of Oliver Cromwell in the Victorian period associated with writers such as Thomas Carlyle was expressed in many forms, in histories and biographies, novels, public lectures, magazine articles, and also in the erection of outdoor public statues. Two Cromwell statues were erected in the North of England, Manchester in 1875 and Warrington in 1899. This article traces the history and responses to the installation of the statue of Cromwell, sculpted by John Bell, in Warrington. The gift of a prominent local Liberal businessman, the statue exposed divisions within the community, reinforcing the view that the reassessment of Cromwell's status and place in the making of modern Britain was far from settled. Opposition to the scheme was especially evident within the town's substantial Irish community.