25 April 2012

Postman's Park, London, in Patrick Marber's Closer

Well, maybe that seems a bad title because most people – and I admit that includes me – are only familiar with Postman's Park (and therefore Alice Ayres) not directly because of Patrick Marber's play Closer (1997), but because of Mike Nichol's movie Closer (2004), starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. Still, Marber did write the screenplay based on his play, so why not use that title?

Anyway, Postman's Park is a small gem tucked away behind London Museum between Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, and King Edward Street, and its principal feature is George Frederic Watts's Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice (shown in the background of this photo). This is where I try to keep out of the picture and let the images speak for themselves.

'G. F. WATTS MEMORIAL
TO HEROIC SELF SACRIFICE
UNVEILED IN 1900, THE MEMORIAL TO HEROIC SELF-SACRIFICE WAS CONCEIVED AND UNDERTAKEN BY THE VICTORIAN ARTIST
GEORGE FREDERIC WATTS OM RA (1817–1904).
IT CONTAINS PLAQUES TO THOSE WHO HAVE HEROICALLY LOST THEIR LIVES TRYING TO SAVE ANOTHER.
WATTS BELIEVED THAT THESE "EVERYDAY" HEROES PROVIDED MODELS OF EXEMPLARY BEHAVIOUR AND CHARACTER.
"THE MATERIAL PROSPERITY OF A NATION IS NOT AN ABIDING POSSESSION; THE DEEDS OF ITS PEOPLE ARE" G. F. WATTS
"GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS" JOHN 15:13
WATTS GALLERY, COMPTON, SURREY.'

'IN MEMORIAM
GEORGE FREDERIC WATTS
WHO DESIRING TO HONOUR
HEROIC SELF SACRIFICE
PLACED THESE RECORDS HERE'

This gives a general idea of the layout of the memorial.


And because of the movie and the play, this is the plaque in which most people are interested:
'ALICE AYRES
DAUGHTER OF A BRICKLAYER'S LABOURER
WHO BY INTREPID CONDUCT
SAVED 3 CHILDREN
FROM A BURNING HOUSE
IN UNION STREET BOROUGH
AT THE COST OF HER OWN YOUNG LIFE
APRIL 24 1885'

And for the record I add a few more examples:

'HERBERT MACONOGHU
SCHOOLBOY FROM WIMBLEDON AGED 13
HIS PARENTS ABSENT IN INDIA, LOST
HIS LIFE IN VAINLY TRYING TO RESCUE
HIS TWO SCHOOLFELLOWS WHO WERE
DROWNED AT GLOVERS POOL, CROYDE,
NORTH DEVON AUGUST 28 1882'

'FREDERICK ALFRED CROFT
INSPECTOR AGED 31
SAVED A LUNATIC WOMAN
FROM SUICIDE AT WOOLWICH
ARSENAL STATION BUT WAS
HIMSELF RUN OVER BY A TRAIN
JAN 11 1878'

'THOMAS GRIFFIN
FITTERS LABOURER
APRIL 12 1899 | IN A
BOILER EXPLOSION AT A
BATTERSEA SUGAR REFINERY
WAS FATALLY SCALDED IN
RETURNING TO SEARCH
FOR HIS MATE'

Below is a much more detailed Wikipedia link to the memorials:
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
List of tablets on the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice

2 comments:

Antony Clayton said...

Postman's Park also appears in the Stephen Poliakoff curio Hidden City (1987). As far as I can remember it was the scene of an outdoor party given by an odious ad or media man played by Richard E Grant. I haven't seen it since its 1987 release but recall that the writing and some of the acting was poor, However the locations were fascinating - a chance to test your knowledge of obscure London - a fair amount was filmed in underground bunkers, disused tube stations etc.

Dr Tony Shaw said...

Many thanks for that information, Antony: I shall have to watch out for that film. Yes, Richard E. Grant does odious quite well, I think!