The Peel Memorial is a public statue by Edward Hodges Baily, a 19th-century British artist best known for sculpting Nelson on Nelson's Column. It stands in the centre of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, and commemorates the life of Sir Robert Peel—twice UK Prime Minister and founder of the British Conservative Party—who was born in Bury.

The statue is made of bronze and stands tall.Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester by Terry Wyke & Harry Cocks, 2004, p250–253 Peel is depicted in contemporary dress with a long coat, shown as if "addressing the House of Commons on the memorable subject of Free Trade".Illustrated London News, 15 November 1851, p601

The statue is mounted on a granite pedestal measuring in height. The front of the pedestal bears the Peel family coat of arms and the word "Peel" in bronze capital letters. The left and right sides feature bronze bas-reliefs representing Commerce and Navigation, while the back of the pedestal displays a circular bronze panel containing a quotation from one of Peel's speeches.

The statue was originally surrounded by an iron railing with gas lights at each corner,Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 11 September 1852, p9 & 10 although these were later removed.

Inscription The inscription on the back of the pedestal reads:"IT MAY BE, / I SHALL LEAVE A NAME / SOMETIMES REMEMBERED / WITH EXPRESSIONS OF GOOD WILL / IN THE ABODE OF THOSE WHOSE LOT / IT IS TO LABOR, AND TO EARN THEIR / DAILY BREAD BY THE SWEAT OF / THEIR BROW – WHEN THEY SHALL / RECRUIT THEIR EXHAUSTED STRENGTH / WITH ABUNDANT AND UNTAXED FOOD / THE SWEETER, BECAUSE IT IS / NO LONGER LEAVENED BY A / SENSE OF INJUSTICE"This is a quotation from Peel's speech to the House of Commons upon resigning as Prime Minister on 29 June 1846.Life and Times of Sir Robert Peel by William Cooke Taylor, Volume 3, p488 (1851)

History On 10 July 1850, eight days after Peel's sudden and unexpected death, a public meeting at the courthouse in Bury Town Hall resolved that "a monument be erected in some central part of the town as a perpetual memorial of our eminent townsman."Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 13 July 1850, p2, 9 & 10 A subsequent campaign also lobbied for a monument at the top of Harcles Hill near Ramsbottom.

A Testimonial Committee was appointed to oversee the erection of the memorial, and subscriptions were invited to raise funds for it. Eventually, a sum of £2,700 was collected, of which £2,500 was allocated for the memorial, with the remainder covering expenses.The Art-Journal, Volume XIII, 1851, p96 Nearly 2,000 individuals contributed,The Morning Chronicle, Friday 10 September 1852, p7 with subscriptions ranging from £200 given by Mr Thomas Norris of Preston, to 1d donated by Miss Rachel Knowles.Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 27 July 1850, p1

The committee decided that the memorial should take the form of a bronze statue on a granite base. Rather than holding an open competition, they chose to invite submissions from notable sculptors. Twenty-one artists were asked to submit ideas, including Baily, Carlo Marochetti, John Henry Foley and William Calder Marshall.Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, Saturday 15 February 1851, p10

In February 1851, an exhibition was held at the town hall to allow the public to inspect the submissions. Many statuettes, busts and architectural designs were displayed.Illustrated London News, 22 February 1851, p161 Over a period of several days, 14,286 people viewed the exhibits.Blackburn Standard, Wednesday 26 February 1851, p3 Although the venue forbade admission to "Persons in Clogs", the working people of Bury were so enthusiastic to see the exhibition that many "ran up the steps in their stocking-feet".Sketches of Lancashire life and localities by Edwin Waugh, 1855, p4 & 5 Following a committee meeting on 14 February 1851, it was decided to offer the commission to Baily.

The statue was cast at Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam's Statue Foundry and Bronze Works in Pimlico, London. The foundry employed a new technique that allowed the statue to be cast as a single piece of bronze.Leeds Intelligencer, Saturday 14 August 1852, p3Hampshire Advertiser, Saturday 15 May 1852, p7 It was described as "a cast of surpassing beauty – almost perfect from the mould itself".London Atheneum, 1228, p729 (quoted in Casting of the Peel Statue, Annals of Science, 15 October 1852, p6)

The finished statue was inaugurated on 8 September 1852. The ceremony was attended by Peel's brothers John (the Dean of Worcester) and Lawrence, his son Frederick (then MP for Bury), many local dignitaries, and a crowd of 10–15,000 people. The following day saw the ceremonial opening of the Peel Monument above the village of Holcombe near Ramsbottom, at which Frederick was also present as guest of honour.

The statue was designated a Grade II listed building on 29 January 1985.

Baily's maquette for the sculpture is preserved at Bury Art Museum.

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