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Statue

Sanctuary - king on right - Henry III

Erection date: 1854

Have we correctly identified this king?

Site: Westminster Sanctuary (4 memorials)

SW1, Broad Sanctuary, The Sanctuary, 1-8 Broad Sanctuary

The building is Grade II listed, a terrace of Bath stone buildings incorporating gateway to Dean's Yard. 1853-54 by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Some sources say these were built as houses which seems unlikely but they are certainly now used as offices.

Niches in the turrets, at first floor, house two very similar statues. The spandrels of the gateway are decorated with two roundels with portrait heads, one of which is crowned. These all seem to represent particular individuals but we can find no information, so we have to guess.

The statues are crowned and each clutches a model building, with slightly different fenestration. So we think they are the two kings central to the creation of Westminster Abbey: Edward the Confessor who, in 1042-52, (re)built St Peter's Abbey here, and Henry III who, in 1245, began the building of the current Abbey. Comparative beard lengths seem to corroborate our theory.

And the two heads must represent Victoria and Albert: the female wears a crown and the male doesn't, the date of the building, they even look like some of their portraits.

The memorial column in our photo is covered on its own page: Westminster School - old boys.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Sanctuary - king on right - Henry III

Subjects commemorated i

King Henry III

Ascended throne in 1216, aged 9.  Son of King John.  Resurrected the Magna Ca...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Sanctuary - king on right - Henry III

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Frieze of Parnassus - Roubiliac

Frieze of Parnassus - Roubiliac

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1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
City of London School 2 - Shakespeare

City of London School 2 - Shakespeare

EC4, Victoria Embankment, 60

We've listed the statues left to right across the front of the building, with More all on his lonesome on the west (left) facade.  The 1...

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Colonial Office - S13 - H. Grey

Colonial Office - S13 - H. Grey

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Statues Hither and Thither has been invaluable in identifying some of the busts and most of the statues. The statues are not labelled and...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Sanctuary - king on left - Edward the Confessor

Sanctuary - king on left - Edward the Confessor

SW1, Broad Sanctuary, The Sanctuary, 1-8 Broad Sanctuary

Have we correctly identified this king?

1 subject commemorated
Oscar Wilde reclining

Oscar Wilde reclining

WC2, Adelaide Street

Unveiled by Lucian Holland, Wilde's great grandson, who made the unveiling speech.  He was assisted by Stephen Fry who played Oscar in th...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators