Public art: Tony Hancock plaque and memorial

Designer: Bruce Williams

Although Tony Hancock left Birmingham within a couple of years of his birth, his links with the city are remembered with this memorial made of bronze and glass.

Where? Old Square (between Corporation Street and The Priory Queensway).

Photography by Daniel Sturley

 

 

Tony Hancock statue - details

A memorial of the comedian Tony Hancock (1924 - 1968).

Made of bronze and glass.

An enlarged photo of Hancock handing on a tap with a cup of tea.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (May 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Both sides are identical, but mirror-reversed.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (February 2022). Photography by Daniel Sturley

 

Unveiled on the 13th May 1996 by Sir Harry Secombe.

The sculptor was Bruce Williams.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (May 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

The memorial is on a black plinth, close to Corporation Street (between The Priory Queensway).

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (May 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Both sides of the plinth read:

Tony Hancock 1924 - 1968 

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (February 2010). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Never had a man less reason to be humble about his talent

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (February 2010). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

I do not think I ever met a man as modest and humble

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (February 2022). Photography by Daniel Sturley

 

There is a plaque on the pavement in front of the memorial that reads:

Tony Hancock

Born in Hall Green, Birmingham,
Tony Hancock was the most celebrated and
innovative comedian of the 1950's and 1960's
when his television and radio series
'Hancock's Half Hour' were the most popular
programmes in Britain.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (February 2010). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

 

2023 conservation works

As of summer 2023, a lady has been cleaning the Tony Hancock memorial, after three decades of weathering.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (July 2023). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

The Tony Hancock Memorial around a week after the lady (pictured above) cleaned it. This is the side facing Sainsbury's Local and Tesco Express.

Tony Hancock memorial in Old Square (July 2023). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Tony Hancock in Hall Green

Tony Hancock was born at 41 Southam Road in Hall Green on the 12th May 1924.

He was a comedian of genius.

He died in Sydney, Australia on the 25th June 1968.

Tony Hancock plaque in Hall Green (January 2012). Photography by Elliott Brown