Herbert Hampton was born at Hoddeston in Hertfordshire in 1862 and studied at the Lambeth, the Westminster, the Slade School of Art and in Paris at the Académie Julian. Working as a sculptor and painter, he exhibited at the RA from 1886. His bust of Field Marshal Lord Roberts was sculpted in 1900. His marble portrait statue of Queen Victoria (1906) was unveiled at Nagpur on 29 September by Sir Andrew Leith Fraser, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. It was vandalised on 13 September 1908 when it was painted with tar, the sceptre smashed and the nose broken. A second version by Hampton was sent out to Nagpur in 1912. ‘Both figures have been removed from their original sites and pedestals, and now stand together in a compound next to the old cemetery, Nagpur.’ Hampton also executed a version of his Queen Victoria for Jubbulpore in 1905. At the inauguration ceremony, Sir Frederic Lely proclaimed: ‘And thus in years to come as you pass to and fro by this image set up by you in the centre of your homes, it will tell you of a good Queen in the West who loved her people of India well. It will remind you of a reign which brought in the dawn of a new life which has not yet reached its zenith; it will be a symbol to you of unity and strength.’ Hampton’s Bronze portrait statue Charles, Baron Hardinge of Penshurst may be found in the Patna Museum, India. Another marble Queen Victoria (1905) may be found at Dunedin in New Zealand. Hampton’s marble ‘Victorian frock coat style’ William Rolleston Statue (1906) stands at Christchurch, New Zealand. The Lyttelton Times wrote of it: ‘The statue itself is a very good likeness. This was shown by the remarks made as soon as it was unveiled, many of those present saying that the likeness could not have been bettered.’ The paper went on: ‘The sculpture has caught the expression on the face, and the pose of the figure, with notable success.’ Hampton’s portrait statue of Lord Aberdare cast by Hollinshead & Burton stands in Alexandra Gardens, Cathays Park in Cardiff. At Dalton Square, Lancaster The Victoria Monument (1907) was sculpted by Hampton in bronze. The relief panels of the massive work depict eminent Victorians, including Lancaster-born philanthropist Richard Owen and Florence Nightingale. The four corner pieces represent Truth, Wisdom, Justice and Freedom. Hampton bought Alfred Gilbert’s house after he was bankrupted and in it he discovered and reassembled one of the (wingless) plaster maquettes of Eros which Gilbert had intended to destroy. The publicity concerning the statue’s move at Piccadilly Circus in 1925 made Hampton think of writing to George Clausen, who was Director of the Chantrey Bequest, to suggest that a single bronze cast be taken from the plaster for the collection of the Tate. Clausen had been Professor of Painting at the RA for part of the time that Gilbert was Professor of Sculpture there and they knew each other well. The resulting cast was taken by Gilbert’s former founder, Alessandro Parlanti. Professor Clausen wrote to Gilbert on 11 July: ‘I went to the foundry with Goscombe John and Hampton on Wednesday and saw the finished cast of Eros. It has come out very well, except that there was one place where the metal hadn’t run and they had to insert a patch. Parlanti had given it a rather dark patina, and we asked him to lighten it; this he promised to do. So I do hope the Chantrey Committee will take it to their hearts!’ It seems they did so and the result was so admired that shortly afterwards, Gilbert gave permission for a second cast to be taken, which may now be found in the RA. Hampton was elected MSBS in 1908. On 5 February 1929 he had a letter published in The Times complaining that the limited competition for the bronze equestrian statue of Field Marshal Earl Haig run by the Office of Works and judged by a panel of assessors from the RIBA, RBS and RA was being restricted to three named sculptors. These were William MacMillan, Gilbert Ledward and Alfred Hardiman, who were each invited to submit models to the selection panel. The letter was decidedly odd coming from a distinguished sculptor who considered mere war memorials infra dig. Hampton died on 11 February 1929 aged 66.