Statue

Sanctuary - king on right - Henry III

Westminster Sanctuary 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.

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

William Shakespeare - British Library

William Shakespeare - British Library

NW1, Euston Road, The British Library

An information panel informs that the statue was commissioned by David Garrick and sculpted by Louis Roubiliac. It was bequeathed to the ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Captain Scott statue

Captain Scott statue

SW1, Waterloo Place

Sculpted by Kathleen Scott, his widow. There is a replica, in Christchurch, New Zealand, carved in marble, white as the Antarctic.

5 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Churchill statue - Parliament Square

Churchill statue - Parliament Square

SW1, Parliament Square

12 foot high, bronze. Unveiled by Lady Churchill.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
John Wesley statue - St Paul's

John Wesley statue - St Paul's

EC1, St Paul's Churchyard

Bronze statue on a marble base. From PMSA: Wesley is shown stepping forward, pointing upwards with his right hand, and holding a bible in...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Frieze of Parnassus - Vanbrugh

Frieze of Parnassus - Vanbrugh

SW7, Kensington Road

The monument, commissioned by Queen Victoria and designed by George Gilbert Scott, was built 1864-72, and the statue of Albert was instal...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator