The ''Lanchester Car Monument'' () is an open-air galvanized steel

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the ''Stanhope Phaeton'', or ''Lanchester'' motor car. It is in Bloomsbury Village Green, a piece of reclaimed land in the Heartlands (Nechells) area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. It was designed by

Tim Tolkien Tim Tolkien (born October 1962) is an English sculptor who has designed several monumental sculptures, including the award-winning ''Sentinel''. He has a metal sculpture and public Art business at Cradley Heath, West Midlands. He is also a ...

to commemorate the work of

Frederick William Lanchester Frederick William Lanchester (23 October 1868 – 8 March 1946), was an English polymath and engineer who made important contributions to automotive engineering and to aerodynamics, and co-invented the topic of operations research. Lanchester ...

. At the age of twenty and with no formal qualifications, Lanchester so impressed the owner of the

Forward Gas Engine Company Forward Gas Engine Company was an engineering firm based in Nechells, Birmingham, England, that specialised in the manufacture of stationary internal combustion gas engines. Forward Gas Engine Company – Wikipedia One of the most notable engin ...

of Birmingham that he was offered the position of assistant works manager at their factory near Bloomsbury Street where he made various improvements to the equipment produced by this company. Lanchester resigned from the company in 1893 and went on to produce the first all-British four-wheel petrol car.''Dictionary of National Biography'', "Lanchester, Frederick William", http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34388

References

Sources

Article in Birmingham City Council newspaper: ''Forward'', 3 May 2006. PDF. (page 7)

External links

History of Birmingham, West Midlands Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands Steel sculptures in England Monuments and memorials in Birmingham, West Midlands Outdoor sculptures in Birmingham, West Midlands Cars in art Sculptures of objects {{UK-sculpture-stub