Resting on the four corners of the podium are groups of sculpture representing the industrial arts. At the south-west angle we have Agriculture, by W. Calder Marshall, consisting of an ideal statue of the genius of agriculture, with a husbandman, a female figure with ears of corn in her lap, and a shepherd boy, typifying respectively the tilling of the soil, its successful results, and the breeding of cattle.
From the south-west angle rises a group by Henry Weekes representing Manufactures, with a central female figure typifying the genius of manufacture, and a smith, weaver, and potter to represent their several industries.
At the north-west angle is Mr. Thornycroft's Commerce, with a female allegorical figure holding a cornucopia as a type of successful enterprise, and smaller figures holding various imports or exports.
The north-west and last angle is occupied by John Lawlor's Engineering, the presiding genius in this instance resting on a steam cylinder and looking down upon a navvy, a younger worker with the compasses, etc.
The four bronze statues on the shrine itself, and above these groups, are by H. Armstead, and represent Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology, and Geometry; and the four in the niches above are by J. B. Philip, and typify Rhetoric, Medicine, Philosophy, and Physiology.