A memorial to Edward VII

The Peace Statue
Photo by Tony Mould

The peace statue, some 30 ft tall, depicts an angel of peace, holding an orb and an olive branch. It is in fact a memorial to Edward VII, ‘The Peacemaker’, who convalesced several times in Brighton and restored some of the town’s fashionable reputation.

It was designed by Newbury Trent and bears the arms of both Brighton and Hove boroughs. The statue was unveiled by the Duke of Norfolk in October 1912, on the same day as a new home for the Queen’s Nurses was opened.

For a year before the erection of the statue proper, a wooden model of it stood in its place. The site of the statue itself is actually in Brighton, but the responsibility of maintaining it is Hove’s.

Comments about this page

  • Thank you very much for this great web page – it helped me loads with my geography homework!

    By Hana Teraie-Wood (21/09/2003)
  • As a boy growing up in Brighton in the 1950s, I was given to believe that the Peace Statue was sometimes referred to by Brightonians as the Boundary Statue as it sits on the boundary of Brighton and Hove.  (Oops, sorry, Brighton and Hove are now one city!)  I would welcome any comments on this as my curiousity has been awakened.

    By John Wignall (28/03/2007)
  • Thank you.  I now know lots about the peace statue for my school project.

    By Alexa Coker (19/06/2008)
  • Thanks for the information about the statue. I took a photo of it while staying in Brighton a couple of years ago (I live in Australia) with Brighton pier in the background, but didn’t know what the statue represented until now.

    By David Whittingham (23/10/2010)
  • My memories of the peace statue were most vivid on November the fifth during the 60’s. Crowds would gather and fireworks (bangers) would be lobbed into the masses. One year we made up a batch of home made bangers with potassium chlorate which is a lot more powerful than the standard [sic] penny bangers of the time. The police would rush forward and step on any thrown banger, however our bangers would almost knock them out when their knees nearly met their chins. From what I can remember, miscreants were bundled into water works vans and dumped at the Devils Dyke and left to walk home, however this needs some verification! James.

    By James Gaitley (20/05/2013)
  • Hello,
    “The site of the statue itself is actually in Brighton, but the responsibility of maintaining it is Hove’s”

    I am not sure this is true. The City Council comes under the City of Brighton & Hove. If the budget is split between Brighton and Hove, and it comes under Hove, then I am not sure what this means in terms of being better or worse.

    From this map, it suggests the statue is somewhere on the border. I would perhaps say it is based in Brighton, but impossible to say and probably done for deliberate reasons anyway. https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/election-map-2019/

    Being a Peace Statue, you’d think people would be peaceful here. But for some reason or another, I always find the opposite and some protestors once used this spot. Breach of the Peace – just point at the statue and ask for the whole history of Edward VII to be recited from November 1841, all the way through to today. Now that would be an interesting conversation. Just right for a documentary.

    By Fred Alwan (21/06/2022)
  • I visited Brighton a lot as a child & then as a teenager.
    Then I moved some distance away & visits became less frequent.
    The Peace Statue – the name conjures up romantic & beautiful fantasies in my mind. The reality is even better than that. It’s majestic, hypnotic, grand. I love it.
    I had no idea it was to honour Edward VII. As Fred Alwan points out (in the post above) that would make a good story. I am now going to dig into Edward VII’s life.
    I am grateful that you have opened up a new part of history for me. Thank you.
    Your blog is such a good idea. I am grateful to you.
    PS I don’t mind if the statue is in Brighton, Hove or amazingly in the middle. It makes no difference other than add another element to it’s fame.

    By Barbara Osborn (03/07/2022)

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