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Bust

08 Croydon - Archbishop John Tillotson

Site: Whitgift and others (17 memorials)

CR9, Katharine Street, Croydon Public Library

Built in 1892 by Charles Henman Jr. this heavily decorated group of buildings makes up Croydon's Municipal buildings complex. The building and the roundels are covered at . Each of the five bays of the frieze carries three portrait roundels. The names, wreathed in either oak or laurel leaves, are given along the tops of the windows just below the pediments, listed here left to right. Ornamental Passions assumes they are all the work of Edwin Roscoe Mullins who did other work on this part of the building.

You would have thought that by 1892 the spelling of Shakespeare would have been sorted out. But this is not the first time we have seen it as "Shakespere" on buildings around this date. Perhaps it was a nod to the fashion for historical romanticism. Of course, in the 16th century, spelling had not settled down, to the extent that Shakespeare himself was inconsistent. His marriage certificate (necessary because at 18 he was under-age) has his name spelt as Shagspeare, accidentally, we are sure.

Archbishop Tillotson takes pride of place at the centre of these portraits. He was born almost 30 years after Whitgift's death and, like Whitgift, became Archbishop of Canterbury. Other than that we can find no reason for his honoured presence here.

Improbably, "Croydon" derives from the Anglo Saxon for "Crocus Valley" (ref: )

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
08 Croydon - Archbishop John Tillotson

Subjects commemorated i

Archbishop John Tillotson

Archbishop of Canterbury 1691 till his death.

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
08 Croydon - Archbishop John Tillotson

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
08 Croydon - Archbishop John Tillotson

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