Sir Peter Fairbairn (1799-1861)

Biography

Fairbairn arrived in Leeds in 1824 following an engineering apprenticeship. He applied his engineering knowledge to the invention and improvement of wool, flax, silk and cotton spinning machinery. Fairbairn established his own business at the Wellington Foundry where he employed around 1000 workmen. Fairbairn also used his engineering knowledge for the manufacture of firearms during the Crimean war. Fairbairn became mayor of Leeds in 1857 and 1858, hosting Queen Victoria at his residence, Woodsley House on Clarendon Road (now Fairbairn House) when she visited the town to open the new Town Hall. Victoria knighted Fairbairn during her visit. Fairbairn caught a cold while presenting colours to Leeds Rifle Corps in open air; subsequent complications brought his life to an abrupt end in 1861.

Context

Fairbairn was mayor during the only visit to Leeds by Queen Victoria. Fairbairn was well liked by the public and his statue was raised as part of public mourning for his sudden death. The statue resides near his family home on Clarendon Road.

The statue

Date Erected:
1868

Artist:
Matthew Noble (1817-1876)

Commissioned / funded by:
Erected by subscription in Woodhouse Square near his home, after public subscription raised £1000.

Format and materials:
Bronze figure on granite pedestal with cornice and plinth, square plan. With inscriptions.

Location:
Woodhouse Square

Description:
Life-size standing figure with a scroll in the left hand. The right is resting on a pedestal with cog-wheel, drapery and chain of office.

Inscription: ‘Sir Peter Fairbairn, KNT Mayor of Leeds in 1857 and 1858. This statue was erected by the voluntary subscriptions of his fellow townsmen’ (Historic England, n.d.).

Sources

• Historic England (n.d.) Statue of Sir Peter Fairbairn, West Yorkshire.
• Bradford, E., (2018) Sir Peter Fairbairn, (1799-1861), Engineer. Thorsby Society. 

[Image by Betty Longbottom via Wikimedia Commons]