The Story of the Red Hand of Gladstone Statue in Bow

Standing outside Bow Church is the statue of William Gladstone. At first glance, it’s a typical Victorian monument. A towering figure in bronze and stone, celebrating one of Britain’s most famous political leaders. But look a little closer and something unusual stands out: Gladstone’s outstretched hand is painted red.

It’s a sight that has intrigued generations of East Londoners. The story behind it blends a combination of Victorian politics with worker protest and urban folklore. All anchored against the backdrop of one of the East End’s most significant labour struggles, the Matchwomen’s strike of 1888.

Gladstone and the Match Tax

William Gladstone was one of the towering figures of Victorian Britain. He served four times as Prime Minister and four times as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The story of why he would come to be depicted on a statue outside Bow Church starts in his first term (1868-1876). It was during this time, on 20 April 1871, that his Chancellor, Robert Lowe, had proposed a tax on matches. A lover of Latin, Lowe used the phrase “Ex Luce Lucellum” when introducing the plan in parliament. It translated into ‘Out of Light, a Little Profit’ and over time would come to be ridiculed. Despite this however the proposal passed the proposal stage handsomely with a majority of 157

Debating the Proposal

The day after, a second debate drew a lot more criticism. Many MP’s twigging that the tax would disproportionately hurt the poor. It still passed a second vote though this time by a lesser margin of 62. It was a policy that was well on the way to becoming law.

Key Commodity

At the time, matches were an essential commodity. They were used for lighting fires, gas lamps and cooking. In Bow, just a short walk from the church, was the matchstick factory of Bryant & May. One of the areas largest employers. In the surrounding area there were also several other matchstick factories. Thousands of families in the Bow area relied on match manufacturing for their livelihood.

A Tax on the Poorest

The reaction to the proposed tax was swift and provoked a national outcry. Local match manufacturers united in their own opposition knowing that it would make their product much more expensive. Queen Victoria herself also intervened directly to Gladstone. She stated concerns about the impact on the poor. Saying that it would be the poorest who would find the increase hardest to bear.

..this tax which it is intended should press on all equally, will in fact by only severely felt by the poor, which would be very wrong and most impolitic at the present moment. The Queen trusts that the Government will reconsider this proposal and try and substitute some other which will not press upon the poor. – Queen Victoria to Mr. Gladstone, 23 April 1871

The March to Parliament

On Monday 24 April 1871 a major march took place. It’s intention was to oppose the tax and present a petition to parliament. It featured several thousand working class east enders and many workers from the local matchstick factories. A large number of the protesters were women and girls. Many between the ages of 13 and 20. Workers had been given the day off to join the protest. However it’s unclear and indeed unlikely that this would have been paid.

Meeting in Victoria Park

The march had been arranged following a large public meeting in Victoria Park on Sunday 23rd just a day earlier. Speaking at that meeting were several Bryant & May employees who were in opposition to the tax. It was at this meeting that the march was agreed with the sanction of the local matchstick manufacturers. These would have likely included the nearby Bell & Blacks at Bow Bridge and R. Letchford & Co in Bethnal Green. All big employers in the local area.

From Bow to Westminster

Scheduled to start at Bow Station the intention was to head to Westminster. The march however was stopped at various intervals. The police choosing to use heavy handed measures to try and disrupt it. At Mile End, Whitechapel, Embankment and in Westminster the protestors were met by police violence. Later MP’s would raise questions about the excessive use of force by police during that day.

The Tax is Scrapped

Despite the experience of the marchers, the day after, on 25 April 1871, the Chancellor backed down. It was a mere six days after initially proposing the measure and realising the strength of opposition against it. In East London, the decision was celebrated. Gladstone’s government despite first proposing the tax, had spared the industry and its workers from a devastating new cost.

Memorial Fountain

Such was the pleasure that the scrapping of the Match Tax elicited. A grand drinking fountain was proposed to commemorate the event. Opening in 1872 it stood in the forecourt of the Bow Station and was paid for by a public subscription. The origin of the money for the subscription most likely from local businesses. Sadly this is no longer there, it fell into disrepair and was further damaged in the second world war. Eventually being removed and presumably demolished in 1953.

A Statue to Celebrate Gladstone

Nearly a decade later in 1880, Theodore H. Bryant, one of the firm’s owners, decided to honour Gladstone. The Bryant family were liberals and already big fans of Gladstone. He commissioned Irish sculptor Albert Bruce Joy to create a statue. Gladstone himself sat for the artist several times. On 9 August 1882 the stature was unveiled outside Bow Church, where it still stands today. It was meant as a grand civic gesture. A tribute to a politician who had played a role in the scrapping of the Match Tax. Also a man who was now serving his second term as Prime Minister (1880-1885).

Grand Civic Gesture

This ‘grand civic gesture’ was not universally appreciated. The conditions inside the factory for the predominantly women and girls was notoriously bad. The owners had claimed that the statue was a “gift to the people of the East End”. Yet, it would soon be claimed that the ‘gift’ was funded not by the owners, but by the workers themselves.

Annie Besant Article

The most vivid account of the statue’s unveiling comes not from official records but from the pen of Annie Besant. The journalist and activist would go on to support the match-girls in their famous strike of 1888. Today there is even a blue plaque remembering Annie outside the old walls of the factory. A place that now has been turned into an estate called ‘Bow Quarter’. She had heard about conditions in the factory and published an article in June 1888 called “White Slavery in London“. The article generated a real stir with the owners of Bryant & May trying to actively denounce it.

A Bitter Memory

In the piece, Besant described a bitter memory linked to the unveiling of the statue some six years before. One that had lingered among the factory’s workers:

“Mr. Theodore Bryant, to show his admiration of Mr. Gladstone and the greatness of his own public spirit, bethought him to erect a statue to that eminent statesman. In order that his workgirls might have the privilege of contributing, he stopped 1s. each out of their wages, and further deprived them of half-a-day’s work by closing the factory, ‘giving them a holiday’.

So furious were the girls at this cruel plundering, that many went to the unveiling of the statue with stones and bricks in their pockets, and I was conscious of a wish that some of those bricks had made an impression on Mr. Bryant’s — conscience. Later they surrounded the statue — ‘we paid for it’ they cried savagely — shouting and yelling, and a gruesome story is told that some cut their arms and let their blood trickle on the marble paid for, in very truth, by their blood.”

This passage is hugely significant. It is the earliest written account linking the statue to a protest by the match-girls. It also gives us the first mention of blood on the statue. It’s this vivid image that since inspired the tradition of the statue’s red hands.

Myth, Protest, and the Red Hands

Besant’s story is really the only link to how the workers felt about the statue at the time. No other surviving documents survive to corroborate the story about the wage deductions. Some historians see the tale as a mixture of fact and folklore. Something of an oral history that has taken on the status of a legend. That said, Besant’s article, which proved true in so many other respects, really had no reason to fabricate something specific. It had, after all happened six years before she would go on to investigate the conditions at the factory. The story would likely have been well known to the workers without need for much elaboration.

Lingering Resentment

What does linger and come across in Besant’s article is the deep sense of resentment. Both towards the owners of the factory and to the statue which represented the imbalance between the classes. Later, on the back of the article, and the attempts by the owners to disprove it, the match-girls went out on strike. It became known as the Matchgirls strike with 1400 women and girls marching out of work. It was unprecedented and remarkable. An event that would become a key moment in the trade union movement and the fight for workers rights.

A Living Symbol

One thing that is lost in time is when Gladstone’s outstretched hand started to be painted red. Although the story was well known in the communities of the East End. It is believed to have first been painted around 1988. This marked the 100th anniversary of the Matchgirls strike. Remembering the smearing of blood at the unveiling, it was a means of commemorating the workers and the struggle. Since then, whenever the paint has faded or is cleaned off, someone repaints it. The red-hand of Gladstone, slowly cementing itself into the myth, legend and history of the area.

The story of the Red Hand of Gladstone is one of a series of articles on the History of Bow. These include:

• Bow Palace – The site of the Great Suffrage Demonstration
• The Old Station and the Bow Palais
• Sylvia Pankhurst and the East London Suffragettes
• Walking tour of the East London Suffragettes
• Bow Alley Mural Remembers Local History