Statue of John Laird

The Statue of John Laird stands on the west side of Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England.

He was born in Greenock, Scotland, and as a child moved with his family to Liverpool, then in 1824 to Birkenhead, where his father, William, founded a shipbuilding business.

He retired in 1861, and the business was continued by his three sons, eventually becoming the major ship building firm of Cammell Laird.

A competition for the design of the statue was arranged, and the first prize of £150 was won by Albert Bruce-Joy, a young Irish sculptor.

[6] In March 1877, when the figure of Laird was reaching completion, the Belfast News-Letter praised the fact that he was "represented in the ordinary dress of an English gentlemen", rather than "the senseless costume of the toga", which was fashionable in statues at the time.