A Pair of Replica Sevastopol Cannons in Avenham Park at Preston

Meltdown...!

This is a repeat of a Facebook post from about two years ago.  At the time, I wasn't entirely sure how we'd come to have two replica cannons in Avenham Park, Preston, and not the real things.  It turned out the real ones had disappeared, but earlier than I was thinking...

I am frequently flabbergasted by the flagrant disregard for history, and it’s often around this town (Preston in Lancashire).  The coming and going of the Obelisk that's not an obelisk, the disappearance of the Canal Basin and the infamous Town Hall, to name but a few.  As is often the case, I stumbled across one of my own photos when looking for something else, and I thought that I would try to find out any relevant information about it.

The subject of the photograph was one of a pair of replica Sevastopol (Sebastopol) cannons modelled on those used in the Crimean War, which can be seen in Avenham park.  I think, that I have always known that they were replicas.  However, I am not so sure that I knew that there were once two real cannons from the conflict in the park.  I thought that the replicas had been there longer, but it appears that they returned in 2008.

Replica Sevastopol Cannons

A pair of replica cannons positioned each side of the steps down to Avenham Park. The original two cannons were captured at the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855), Russia, during the Crimean War, 1853–1856, and presented to Preston.  They were placed in Avenham Park, but removed and melted down in the 1960s.  These replica cannons stand on the same spot as the originals.  Each cannon is surrounded by metal railings.  Avenham Park is Listed Grade II*, which includes everything in it, though as modern replicas the cannons are not individually Listed.

At the time of first writing, I was struggling to come to a conclusion as to why it would have been deemed necessary, or a good idea to melt them down.  Therefore, at the time of the first post, I asked for, "Answers on a postcard please..."

The above description is from ArtUK and I think the 1960s is either an error or at least a typo - This should be 1940s.

If you're wondering about the alternating use of a 'b' and a 'v' in the name Sevastopol, the explanation is as follows:

Sevastopol, sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, Ukraine, and a major port on the Black Sea.  Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base throughout its history.  The cannons in the Park actually carry the name 'Sebastopol' on the inscription.

There appear to have been a number of these cannons distributed around the country as 'Trophies of War'.  I am not sure why Preston was chosen as a location, but it appears that there may have been some kind of application process to obtain one.  That makes me think that 'The Corporation' specifically made a bid to get them to be used as a feature in the town.  The time the cannons where shipped back to England predates the park by about a decade though. 

There was one in Huntingdon.  It is also a replica.  Again, the original Russian gun was captured by the British forces at Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1853-1856) and presented as a trophy of the war. The original one was removed for scrap metal during the Second World War, which is an explanation I can understand the logic of, to some extent.

There is also one next to the lighthouse at old Hartlepool.  From what I can see, this may actually be the original one.  Again, this cannon was captured from the Russian Army at the battle of Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1854-56).  In October 1857, the then Secretary of State, Lord Panmure, offered the cannon to Hartlepool Borough Council who gratefully accepted it.  The cannon was transported from London on the steam ship ‘Margaret’ at a total cost of £2.19s.3d., and, after a year’s delay, arrived at Hartlepool in September 1858.

There appears to be another one on Churchgate, Retford in Nottinghamshire.  This must be an original, as it is Grade II Listed.  Cannon bears inscription 'Captured Sevastopol 1855'.  After the end of the Crimean War in 1856 captured ordnance was made available by the government as trophies.  Retford applied, and in April 1858 a 24-pounder was delivered by rail. It was given the name ‘The Earl of Aberdeen’. The Cannon was officially unveiled on the 17 February 1859 by Gunner Cole (of the Royal Artillery). The cannon was removed during the scrap drive of the Second World War, but was rescued by Alderman Alfred Wilson. The cannon was reinstated after the Second World War, set on a new wooden gun carriage, being officially unveiled on the 29 March 1950 by the Mayor of Retford, Councillor T. Richmond.

After reading about the Hartlepool, Huntingdon & Retford Cannons, I then discovered that there were many more.  There appear to have been around 140 brought back to, and dotted around, the UK.  Overall, there were quite a large number of similar cannons distributed throughout the British Isles and world wide. 

What Happened...?

On the original Facebook post, Peter Smith, of Preston History, added a comment about an item in the Preston Digital Archive Flickr collection.

It said, "Preston, Avenham Park, Tinted Postcard. E.T.W.D. (Dennis) 'Dainty Series'"

This text (below) accompanies the picture.

Of interest are the two cannons placed on each side of the steps. These were captured during the Crimean War and brought back to London as a war prize. These, together with a great many similar items were then re-distributed to the towns and cities in England who's men played a key part in the campaign.

These two cannons were destined to go to Fulwood Barracks to be put on display but instead found their way to Avenham Park. Both the cannons and the iron railings were removed and melted down in December 1940 as part of the munitions scrap drives during World War Two. The original stone bases survive today and now support two replacement cannons.

Update 3/16/21 This postcard captures the two original Crimean cannons that were lost to the WW2 scrap drive in 1940. They had been presented to the officers and men of Fulwood Barracks in 1855 in memory of men that lost their lives at Sebastopol. 1,165 cannons were sent to the UK after the Crimean war ended. Many were used as ships ballast on returning troop ships. The 2 replacement cannons that can be seen today were commissioned and manufactured by a company called “lost Art” and were installed in 2008 at a cost of 350k GBP'

Replica Sevastopol Cannon in Avenham Park at Preston

The following is a full list of Crimean Cannon locations in the UK. 

Key:

# = original gun in situ, @ = replacement in situ, $ = scrapped or lost, ? = Unknown.

Armagh #

Aberdeen $$

Ashburton, Devon (not Crimean Cannon)

Ashton-under-Lyne $$

Bamburgh

Banff Scotland #

Bath $$

Berkswell Warwicks #

Berwick #

Birkenhead $$#

Birr #

Blackburn $$

Boston Lincs.$$

Braddan I.O.M.#

Bradford $$

Bridgenorth $

Bridgewater @

Brighton $$

Bristol $$

Burnley $$

Caernarfon #

Canterbury ?

Cambridge $

Cardiff $

Cardigan #

Carlow, Ireland #

Chelmsford #

Cheltenham $

Chester $$

Chobham @

Cobh Ireland #

Congleton $

Coventry $$

Cricklade $$

Darlington #

Dartmouth #

Darwen ?

Derby $$

Dublin ######

Dudley ##

Dumfries #

Dunfermline $

Dun Laoghaire Ireland #

Durham $

Ely #

Ennis Ireland #

Eton #

Evesham #

Flint Castle $

Galway $$

Glasgow $#

Grantham $

Great Yarmouth $$

Guernsey, St Peter Port ##

Halifax $$

Harrogate $

Hartlepool #

Hastings $

Hereford @

Huntingdon @

Knaresborough $

Lancaster ??

Leamington Spa $

Leicester ##

Leominster $

Lichfield #

Lewes #

Limerick Ireland ##

Linlithgow $

Lisburn #

London #

Londonderry #

Longton Staffs ?

Lowestoft #

Ludlow #

Maidstone #

Malmesbury $$$

Margate $

Middlesbrough #

Monmouth #

Naas, Curragh, Porthlaoise, Ireland #

Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs.#

Newry #

Nottingham ##

Oldham $$

Plymouth ###

Pontefract $$

Portsmouth #####$

Preston @@

Reading $

Retford # and Beckingham @

Ripon $

Rochester #

Salford, Manchester $$

Sandhurst ###

Scarborough @

Shaftesbury $

Sheffield $$

Southampton $$$

Southsea $

South Shields @@

Southwold X

Stockport $$

Stockton $

Stoke on Trent ?

Sunderland @@

Swansea ?

Taunton $

Tiverton $

Tralee, Ireland ##

Trim #

Walsall $$

Warrington $$

Waterford Ireland ##

Welling #

Wells $

Whitby $

Winchester $

Wolverhampton $

Woolwich $

Wootton Bassett $

Wrexham $$

York $$

Lower Viewing Terrace and Sebastopol Cannons, Avenham Park

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Further reading and sources of information

Preston, Avenham Park. Tinted Postcard. E.T.W.D. (Dennis) 'Dainty Series - Preston Digital Archive Flickr collection:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rpsmithbarney/5167579029

Replica Sevastopol Cannons - Art UK:

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/replica-sevastopol-cannons-309124

Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean War - Encyclopaedia Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Sevastopol

The Siege of Sevastopol, October 1854–September 1855 - Royal Museums Greenwich:

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/library-archive/siege-sevastopol-october-1854-september-1855

Sebastopol Cannon Avenham Park - Traces Of War:

https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/96884/Sebastopol-Cannon-Avenham-Park.htm

Cannon to be installed in Preston park - Lancashire Telegraph (2008): 

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/2044276.cannon-to-be-installed-in-preston-park/

CRIMEAN CANNONS Database - The Research Fellowship:

https://web.archive.org/web/20181231134646/https://osborne.house/profilego.asp?ref=2C3931

The Sebastopol Cannon Retford - National Heritage List for England:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1045169

The Sebastopol Cannon - Hartlepool History Then & Now:

https://www.hhtandn.org/relatedimages/6621/the-sebastopol-cannon

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Replica Sevastopol Cannon in Avenham Park at Preston

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