Statue of John Batchelor

[2] Batchelor's ship building business eventually failed after being impeded and undermined by the Bute Estate, who dominated Cardiff Docks.

Batchelor promoted development of Penarth Docks, including proposals for a barrage across the River Taff (which the Butes also opposed).

[3] The statue was designed by James Milo Griffith and was unveiled in The Hayes, Cardiff, on 16 October 1886, in a ceremy performed by prominent businessmen and Members of Parliament.

The statue stands on a tall stone pedestal with the words "The Friend of Freedom" written on the front.

A petition was rejected by the Town Council but, all the same, Conservative William Thorn defaced the statue with yellow paint and tar.

[7] Conservative solicitor, T. H. Ensor, wrote a scathing piece in the Western Mail, suggesting the words "Friend of Freedom" be replaced with "traitor to the Crown... hater of the clergy... sincerely mourned by unpaid creditors".