Shelley Memorial facts for kids
The Shelley Memorial is a special monument in Oxford, England. It honors a famous English poet named Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). He briefly studied at University College, where the memorial is located. Shelley was asked to leave the college because he wrote a pamphlet called "The Necessity of Atheism" in 1811.
Even though Shelley was expelled, he is now one of the college's most celebrated former students. The college is very proud of him. In 2005, they even bought some of his old letters to feel an even stronger connection to the poet.
The Shelley Statue
The main part of the memorial is a beautiful white marble sculpture. It shows Shelley lying down, as if he has just been washed ashore. This represents him after he drowned in Italy. The artist who created this sculpture was Edward Onslow Ford. His work was part of a style called the New Sculpture movement.
The statue is placed on a fancy base inside a small, round room. This room has a dome-shaped roof and was designed by Basil Champneys. It was built in the late Victorian period. There are decorative railings around the statue to protect it.
Shelley's daughter-in-law, Lady Shelley, asked for this statue to be made. She first wanted it to be in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, Italy. This is where Shelley is buried. A friend of Shelley's, Edward John Trelawny, also wanted a monument for the poet there. However, Trelawny's family thought Ford's statue was too big. So, they did not agree to have it placed there.
Eventually, Lady Shelley gave the statue to University College. It had a special opening ceremony on June 14, 1893. Many important people were there, including Lady Shelley, the sculptor Onslow Ford, and the architect Champneys.
This statue was an important part of a scene in the 1997 film The Saint. That movie starred Val Kilmer and Elisabeth Shue. The memorial also appeared in an episode of the British TV show Lewis.
Where Science Happened
The Shelley Memorial stands on a very historic spot. This was once the site of Cross Hall, until the early 1800s. It's where two famous scientists, Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke, did important experiments. They worked here when they were in Oxford.
There is a special plaque on the outside wall of the memorial. It faces the High Street so people walking by can see it. The plaque tells the story of Boyle and Hooke:
In a house on this site
between 1655 and 1668 lived
ROBERT BOYLE
Here he discovered BOYLE'S LAW
and made experiments with an
AIR PUMP designed by his assistant
ROBERT HOOKE
Inventor Scientist and Architect
who made a MICROSCOPE
and thereby first identified
the LIVING CELL
