The Shelley Memorial is a memorial to the English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

(1792–1822) at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the college that he briefly attended and from which he was expelled for writing the 1811 pamphlet " The Necessity of Atheism". Although Shelley was expelled from the college, he remains one of its most famous alumni and is now held in high honour there. In 2005, the college acquired some of Shelley's letters to further enhance its connection with the poet.

Statue

The memorial consists of a white marble sculpture of a reclining nude and dead Shelley washed up on the shore at Viareggio in Italy after his drowning, sculpted by Edward Onslow Ford, associated with the New Sculpture movement. It is set on a decorative plinth in a small

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

d late Victorian room designed by

Basil Champneys Basil Champneys (17 September 1842 – 5 April 1935) was an English architect and author whose most notable buildings include Manchester's John Rylands Library, Somerville College Library (Oxford), Newnham College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret Ha ...

, behind ornamental railings that protect it from students. The statue was commissioned by Shelley's daughter-in-law, Lady Shelley. It was originally intended to be located in the Protestant Cemetery in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where Shelley is buried, at the request of adventurer Edward John Trelawny, a friend of Shelley. Trelawny wanted to have a monument of the poet next to his own. However, Trelawny's descendants thought that Ford's statue was too large and thus did not consent to his wishes. Eventually the statue ended up at University College, donated by Lady Shelley, with a formal opening ceremony on 14 June 1893. Among others, Lady Shelley, Onslow Ford, Champneys and Benjamin Jowett were present at the opening ceremony. The memorial has been the victim of a number of pranks over the years. The college's chemistry don, E. J. Bowen, had to clean paint off the statue, for example. The room in which it is housed has also been flooded and infested with goldfish. The statue was a key element in the meeting of two main characters in the 1997 film '' The Saint'', starring

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

and Elisabeth Shue, and also features in an episode (And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea) of the British TV drama, Lewis. The body of a murdered student, purportedly drowned, mirrors the position of Shelley's in the memorial sculpture.

Boyle–Hooke plaque

The Shelley Memorial is on the site where the scientists

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

and

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...

performed experiments while they were in

, previously Cross Hall until the early 19th century. This is recorded for passers-by, on a plaque on the exterior wall of the memorial in the High Street, that reads:Robert Boyle and Robert HookeUniversity CollegeOxford

References

External links

Shelley Memorial All Washed Up
article from '' Cherwell'' {{coord , 51.75257, -1.25244, type:landmark_region:GB-OXF, display=title 1893 sculptures 1893 establishments in England University College, Oxford Monuments and memorials in Oxfordshire Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford History of the University of Oxford Culture of the University of Oxford Tourist attractions in Oxford Sculptures in England Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom Individual rooms Domes English poetry Statues of writers Cultural depictions of Percy Bysshe Shelley

Statue

Boyle–Hooke plaque

See also

References

External links