The imposing and magnificent memorial to Sir Stanley Matthews, which commands extensive views over Stoke from its position adjacent to the Britannia Stadium, and which can be seen from the nearby A50 dual carriageway, is one of the finest sporting monuments in the British Isles.

Although each of the three 9ft-high statues, which depict Sir Stan in three stages of his long career, are cast in bronze they were, appropriately, originally sculpted in local clay which was dug up less than four miles from where the monument stands on its base of Portland stone.

Work on the statues began in 2000, after Sir Stan’s death, and took 12 months to complete.

 

Local sculptors Julian Jeffrey, Carl Payne and Andrew Edwards, all big fans of Sir Stan, undertook their fascinating work in public, in the foyer of the Britannia Stadium.

This meant that fans could pop along and not only watch their fascinating work in progress, but could also offer suggestions as the clay figures took shape.

The idea was to give each individual statue a truly authentic flavour appropriate to its era.

In the first, a young Stan is depicted at the start of his career, wearing the baggy shorts so typical of football in the early 1930’s.

The next two figures both depict Sir Stan in the No 7 shirt he was to claim for his own and make so famous.

In one, which became the central statue, a more youthful star shows a man in longer shorts during the peak of his career in the 1950’s, while the other is Sir Stan at the age of 50, concluding his playing days back at Stoke.
By including three figures, the whole piece catches the longevity of his footballing, as well as conveying a greater sense of movement, than a single icon ever could.

The work was titled `The Evolution Of Sir Stan As The Wizard Of Dribble’, by sculptor Carl Payne, who added: "The statue is for the people of Stoke-on-Trent, because that is what Stan would have wanted."

"Historically, it is absolutely correct. People who knew Stan donated his old football boots so we could get details absolutely authentic - right down to the last eyelet.



"All the balls are in the right era and so are the strips, even down to the rope around the shorts of Stan when he was a young lad and made his debut for Stoke."

There is a plaque on the statue base which reads:

SIR STANLEY MATTHEWS FOUNDATION. Statue unveiled on 27th October 2001 by Jean Gough (Patron) Kevin Keegan (ex-England International and Manager), Terry Conroy (ex-Stoke City), Eric Skeels (ex-Stoke City) and three local children.

The statue was officially unveiled on Saturday, October 27, 2001, before Stoke City’s home Second Division match against Bristol City.

Thousands of football fans attended the unveiling and there was a huge round of applause, as well as audible gasps of admiration, as the covers were drawn back and the magnificent monument was revealed.

Although the statue is sited at the Britannia stadium, each figure appropriately point towards the site of the club's old Victoria Ground, where Sir Stanley graced the turf on so many memorable occasions.

You can visit the statue at any time. It is in very pleasant surroundings, with picnic benches nearby, the location enjoys panoramic views, and the surroundings are very kindly maintained by pupils from the Grange Primary School, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent.