Unveiling Gainsborough's Statue

The statue unveiled

Celebrations to mark the centenary of the unveiling of the statue of Thomas Gainsborough took place on the Market Hill in Sudbury yesterday afternoon.

It was a happy event, and fortunately the rain stayed away.

A good deal of the ceremony mirrored the original event when Princess Louise, a daughter of Queen Victoria, came to the town to unveil the statue.  As occurred in 1913, the statue was only unveiled at the second attempt, the line breaking during the first.

Sculptor and Princess Louise

In a departure from the original programme, yesterday's proceedings were unexpectely interrupted by the arrival of a group of suffragettes, marking the fact perhaps that two days before the ceremony in 1913, Emily Davison was killed when she threw herself under the King's horse at the Derby.

After the ceremony Gainsborough's House stayed open until 8 p.m.. A number of people visited us,  including this group of Scouts, who had lined the 'processional route' earlier.