The Chartist Memorial Statue

The Chartist Memorial Sculpture is located outside the Westgate Hotel in Westgate Square at the junction with Stow Hill, the site of the Newport Chartist Uprising of 1839, and was commissioned by Newport Borough Council with assistance from the Welsh Arts Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the uprising in Newport

This ambitious allegorical sculpture is described as follows:

"The sculpture illustrates the desire for political change, and how the desire motivated the Chartist movement. The groups take their title from the motto of the Chartist convention 'Union, Prudence, Energy'.

Union (The Ideal City) - the figures carry a model of Newport surrounded by dancing children, the group refers to the physical appearance of Newport. "The children dance through the space underneath the model, which is a reminder of the many tunnels and fly-overs that weave their way in, around, under and through the land on which Newport is built".

Prudence (Still Life) - These two figures are representative of the arts, commerce and industry which have played an important part in the fortunes of Newport both in the past and present.

Energy (Apotheosis) - Consists of three recumbent figures arranged in strata like the soil, they lie seemingly crushed but they form the foundation from which the spirit of Chartism, represented by the flying figures, sprang".