Statesman remembered

The bronze statue mounted on a tall marble plinth, and which dominates the Market Place in Romsey is a tribute to the 3rd Viscount Palmerston who lived in the town and was Prime Minister for eight years in the 19th century.
It seems that the mid 19th century was momentous in the town’s history.
The railway was extended to the town in 1847 and less than 20 years later the corn exchange was built as a centre for the buying and selling of grain, The Town Hall, also in Market Place was built in 1866 and the statue in honour of Lord Palmerston was erected in 1867. And at around the same time, Strongs brewery was formed, and went on to produce beer for well over 100 years.
Although a charismatic and popular figure in politics, Lord Palmerston, the former Henry John Temple, did not become Prime Minister until he was 71, in 1855, making him the oldest PM in history to take up the office for the first time. His premiership was dominated by foreign events, making him a global statesman. His home was at Broadlands, subsequently to become home for Lord Mountbatten, and then Lord Romsey.
He died in office in 1865 after catching a chill, aged 80.