Statue of Richard Grosvenor, Second Marquess of Westminster

He was a member of the Grosvenor family, whose main country seat was Eaton Hall near Chester.

[2] The idea of creating a memorial to Richard Grosvenor had been first suggested in 1865 by the Mayor of Chester as "a lasting testimonial to mark the public and private worth" of the Marquess.

[1] The Mayor's plan was to create a public square near the centre of the city in which would stand a statue of the Marquess.

The city council then decided that the statue should be placed in the park, and Thomas Thornycroft was commissioned as the artist.

At the time of its creation it was said to have been the largest sculpture to be carved from a single block of marble in Britain.

[4] Public subscriptions had raised a total of £4,179, and the difference was spent on a portrait of the Marquess for the town hall.