St George's Hall MARY SEACOLE
St George's Hall St George's Place Liverpool L1 1JJ stgeorgeshallliverpool.co.uk St. George's Hall Charitable Trust Registered charity number 1051396
CONTENTS
2.
Introduction
3.
Welcome
5.
About the project
7.
Meet Mary
10. Why Mary 12. Learning Outcomes 13. Donations 15. The Numbers 16. Timeline
INTRODUCTION A
TIMELESS
JOURNEY
Be part of the legacy and take your place in our story... It’s been a year like no other, from clapping on our doorsteps to pounding the pavements on daily walks, Liverpool, like cities around the world, will never be the same. As a city, we have never been one to stand still. We embrace change, our diversity unites us, and our unique culture is one we are recognised for the world over. It is this unique culture that has attracted so many people throughout the generations to our world class city – whether it’s the port or pilots, travellers to merchants venturing into Liverpool throughout the generations, St George’s Hall has welcomed them all.
As the emotional heart of the city, the Hall has witnessed times of extreme joy, as millions have gathered to welcome Giants of character and sport to celebrating our European Capital of Culture as our plateau acted as a stage for the world to get a glance into Liverpool. However, with great joy, comes great sorrow. Each year, the city unites to recognise the greatest sacrifices made by our military, on the steps of the plateau where the Liverpool Pals were first enlisted and where the Hall appeared to cry poppies onto the streets of Liverpool Today, St George’s Hall stands proud as an expression of the confidence and ambition the Victorians had for their city, their delight in profiling their achievements, and proudly stands as the strong beating heart of Liverpool. As it did in Victorian times, the Hall takes you beyond the here and now, beyond the everyday, beyond the ordinary. Today, it is our turn to make history, to be part of the legacy, to take a moment in time and make it memorable on the pages of our city’s story. Creating a first for the Hall and a first for the city, we are about to go on a journey first started in 1854 and we’d very much like you to join us. Will you come on board? Join us and be part of history in the making…
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WELCOME TO
OUR
JOURNEY
The story continues... As Chair of St George's Hall Charitable Trust, it gives me great pleasure to share this incredible project featuring the iconic Mary Seacole. I want my children and grandchildren to see the nation's black history, THEIR history - reflected in our city's favourite building. St George's Hall is the emotional heart of Liverpool, where people gather in times of celebration, vigils, and commemorations. Its Grade I listed heritage serves as a key educational resource through which people of all generations, and from every corner of the world, learn about British history. Yet like many Victorian buildings its statues mark only the lives of white people, and until recently only those of men. Registered charity the St George's Hall Charitable Trust is determined to rectify this by commissioning a new statue to mark the life and achievements of black Scottish-Jamaican nursing pioneer, Mary Seacole (1805-81). Mary had an unshakeable belief in the power of nursing to make a difference. In 1853 she travelled to the Crimean War after the British government rejected her offer of help and nursed thousands of sick and injured soldiers, many of whom came from Liverpool. She was a contemporary of Florence Nightingale, yet her expertise lay in herbal medicine and her hospital was established close to the battlefront, putting her own life at risk to save others. At the time Mary's work was celebrated in the British press and by British soldiers, who called her Mother Seacole, yet over time her achievements became overlooked in favour of her white contemporaries, until in 2004 when she was named the greatest black Briton following a BBC Survey of 100,000 people. We believe our children deserve to see people of every colour celebrated in Liverpool's iconic St George's Hall. If we are to call a halt to generations of prejudice and distortion in the way our history is told, it is vital we make this change NOW. By erecting a statue of Mary Seacole to sit alongside those of her white contemporaries we are both responding to the Black Lives Matter movement and celebrating Mary's nursing legacy. A legacy which today lives on in the bravery of the nurses and doctors on the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis.
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WELCOME TO
OUR
JOURNEY
The story continues... Once in place, the statue will be seen by 500,000 visitors a year, and will be featured in our education programmes for schoolchildren and adults to ensure Mary's story is used to inspire others. It will cost us over £165,000 to commission a statue worthy of Mary's achievements. There are opportunities to give at every level and every donation will make a difference; so to help us celebrate our black history in Liverpool's most iconic building, read on to find out how you can be part of our story, click here if you're reading this digitally, or scan the QR code to donate instantly. Thank you!
Claire Dove CBE, DL (Chair of St. Georges Hall Charitable Trust)
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ABOUT St George's Hall, the jewel in the city's crown... St George’s Hall is not only a building of great beauty and grace, it has long been at the forefront of innovation, a policy we are proud to continue today. It is the world’s first commercially air conditioned building and, when it was built, had the largest barrel vaulted ceiling and piped concert organ in the world. Delve behind the gold leaf and porticoes, and you will find that the Hall has one of the greatest brick arches in the world to this day, not to mention the priceless mosaic floor of over 30,000 tiles underfoot. This grand, ornate structure and Grade I listed venue is a visible credit to the people of Liverpool who first conceived the initial idea of the Hall in response to the need for the city's triennial music festivals needing a space. At the same time, the Civil and Crown Courts were looking for a venue, so the people of the Liverpool decided to create a unique structure that would house both and comissioned architect, Harvey Lonsdale Elmes to complete the works. This ostentatious display of architecture, dazzling locals and visitors alike, acted as a vibrant showcase for the city and its people and has remained at the heart of the city as the jewel in its crown since 1854.
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ABOUT
St George's Hall, the jewel in the city's crown... It is this vision, forward thinking and innovative approach to development that has continuously pushed the Hall forward. In 2008, a project by Liverpool City Council focused on creating up to three female statues to fill the empty plinth spaces left in the Great Hall to recognise a new generation. These statues are designed to inspire the people of Liverpool and beyond, and feature those who have made a significant contribution to help their fellow citizens tackle injustice, prejudice, poverty, and to create an inclusive society. With this in mind, the first successfully placed statue was of the legendary lady of the washhouse (as she was affectionately known) Catherine "Kitty" Wilkinson to great acclaim. Today, we are ready to make history once again and seek your support to help create and install the second statue on the empty plinth – of the heroic Mary Seacole.
The most perfect hall in the world. Charles Dickens
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MEET MARY Mary Jane Grant was born on 23 November 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica to a Jamaican doctress mother and a Scottish Officer father in the British Army. Although Mary was born at a time when most Jamaicans worked as slaves for their British masters*, Mary, like her mother, was born into freedom. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Mary become a doctress (a female doctor who can cure illnesses with local herbs and medicines) but she was also a businesswoman, setting up various hotels and shops throughout her life. An independent woman, with her own career, Mary first travelled to England in 1821 at the tender age of 16, funding her start in the UK by a brief return to Jamaica to gather large amounts of jams and pickles to sell in England. Travelling alone on each of her visits was considered highly unusual at the time and, entrepreneurial as she was, Mary later wrote a book all about her solo travels entitled Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. This book became the first ever autobiography published by a free black woman in the British Empire.
In 1836, Mary married Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole, a white British merchant from Prittlewell, Essex, the godson of Admiral Nelson. Sadly, Edwin passed away in 1844 and despite proposals from other men, Mary never remarried.
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In 1850, an outbreak of cholera (a contagious disease that causes vomiting, cramps and diarrhea) – hit Jamaica. Wanting to help cure those affected, Mary studied the disease, and with the help of a military doctor learnt how to treat those who were infected, risking her own safety in Cruces on the Isthmus of Panama when she too became infected. Despite her popularity and excellent track record in the medicinal arena, Mary experienced racism from her peers. At one of her goodbye parties (she left Cruces to travel to Gorgona Island in 1852) a man made a speech to thank Mary for helping treat those who had been sick, but exclaimed that it was a shame her skin wasn’t white as it would make her more acceptable. Mary could not allow this kind of prejudice to be ignored – so responded that her skin colour made no difference to all the work she had done and that even if her skin had been darker, ‘I should have been just as happy and just as useful, and as much respected by those whose respect I value.’ In October 1853, the Crimean War broke out and by 1854, Mary had travelled to London to offer her skills as a nurse but despite a number of glowing references from senior officials Mary was informed that all positions had been filled and even if a vacancy arose, she would not be offered it. Undeterred by the racism of her peers once again, Mary was dedicated to her cause and using her own funds made her own way to the Crimea with her friend, Thomas Day. A little known fact - during her journey to the Crimea, Mary was put up for the night in Florence Nightingale’s hospital in Scutari, Turkey. Florence even had breakfast sent to Mary’s room the next morning.
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Once at Crimea, Mary and Thomas opened the British Hotel, a hotel and store, two miles from where the soldiers were stationed in Balaklava, Crimea. As well as treating soldiers at her hotel in Crimea, Mary would also visit the battlefront on her horse; taking sandwiches, drinks, bandages and medicines with her despite the dangers and she once suffered a dislocated thumb after she threw herself on the ground to avoid gunfire! A caring, compassionate nurse, Mary treated British, French and Sardinian soldiers – who were all allies – but she also tended to Russian soldiers, even though they were technically the enemy. It didn’t matter to Mary what side, who or where soldiers were from, Mary treated anyone in need at any time free of charge – much like our NHS today. Despite being so well-loved, after her death in 1881, Mary was forgotten about in history and it was only in 1980 that her story was rediscovered by historians. Today a statue of Mary Seacole sits outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London and is believed to be the first in the UK to honor a black woman. *Jamaica was seized by the British in 1655
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WHY MARY? In light of recent historic global events, a statue of Mary Seacole in St George’s Hall represents a collective of unique factors that reflect our society in the 21st Century. St George's Hall Charitable Trust, along with the rest of the nation, wish to take this opportunity to show their collective appreciation of the support and vital work that has been performed by the National Health Service during the global pandemic. During the pandemic, a large number of citizens have lost their lives due to Covid-19 and there has been a particular imbalance of deaths among BME communities. As a black female and nurse working in the medical profession during times of extreme crisis, Mary represents a number of significant areas which is why she has been chosen for this project including: Recognition for members of the BME communities, who served on the frontline and to acknowledge the high proportion from these communities who lost their lives in the service of helping others. Mary is a nurse and heroine of great distinction, the installation of the statue is a clear ‘thank you’ in recognition of the sacrifices of the medical staff and nurses of the NHS and front line staff and community members who have shown compassion and dedication to duty during the pandemic. A number of the statues at St George’s Hall represent dignitaries from a variety of areas - some of whom gained their fame and fortune at a time of different societal norms. Today, Mary represents a forward thinking community, a strong empowered black female in a clear statement of intent to support BME communities and create a new narrative for society moving forward.
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WHY MARY? The installation of a statue of a black female nurse in St George’s Hall is designed to show how Liverpool is dedicating its time and resources to becoming a multi-faith, multicultural and inclusive city. Liverpool is a world in one city, and just like Mary, Liverpool has always welcomed and embraced people from all over the world. As a principal venue in the country which has led the way in innovation, St George’s Hall is a fitting location for a statue installation as a national recognition for the sacrifices of the city and beyond during the pandemic. It will also be a permanent reminder of the city’s resilience and stoic resistance at this time for generations to come. Mary will be the second female statue to be placed in St George’s Hall and the first statue of anyone from the BME community.
This year, we celebrated International Nurses' Day, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale. As with other nursing pioneers like Mary Seacole, Forence Nightingale shone a lamp of hope across the world." Her Majesty The Queen
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OUTCOMES A health pioneer voted as the greatest black Briton in 2004 with a series of astounding achievements as a female, nurse and businesswoman who pushed boundaries, thought differently and questioned the norm, Mary Seacole embodies the attributes and symbolism of Liverpool at this moment in time. In addition to recognising Mary’s incredible achievements, the Trustees believe that erecting a statue of this remarkable woman will educate visitors of St George’s Hall across a number of strands, including: Female Empowerment: The lengths which Mary went to in order to nurse soldiers back to health during the Crimean War – often facing discrimination and having to fund her own journey to set up the British Hotel which, in Mary’s own words, provided “a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers”. Mary Seacole Legacy: Extending Mary’s legacy in Liverpool, which began back in 1991 when Granby Community Mental Health Group named their centre Mary Seacole House “to acknowledge her (Mary’s) rightful place in history”. Military History: St George's Hall is a recognised war memorial site featuring the Liverpool Cenotaph, a statue in recognition of MajorGeneral William Earle and the Kings Regiment monument. The city's close links with its military past and present link to Mary's support for soldiers in the Crimean war. Providing the first statue representing the black and minority ethnic community (BME) in St George's Hall. Across the UK only 21 statues currently represent BME individuals* linking to the Black Lives Matter movement and provide an inspirational black female for young people. This will be the first statue of a member of the BME community in Liverpool. Increased female representation at St George's Hall - currently the Hall features one female, hygiene pioneer Catherine 'Kitty' Wilkinson. Across the UK, only one in five statues are female and only one in 80 feature nameless females.* A programme of specific tailored learning outcomes relevant to curriculum learning outcomes is currently under development with National Museums Liverpool. St. George's Hall Charitable Trust Registered charity number 1051396
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Full thanks is given to the following contributors who have kindly allowed use of their images, content and data for the purposes of this literature. Mary Seacole Trust St George's Hall Stratus Imagery Culture Liverpool Liverpool Central Library Archive Service Liverpool City Council
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St George's Hall Liverpool @SGHLpool @St Georges Hall Liverpool St George's Hall Liverpool www.stgeorgeshallliverpool.co.uk
MARY SEACOLE ST
GEORGE'S
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St. George's Hall Charitable Trust Registered charity number 1051396