Sculpture

The Vintners

Erection date: 11/7/2007

Inscription

{On the front of the small stone plinth:}
The barge master & swan marker of The Vintners Company

{Inscribed on an elbow:} WDR

{Inscribed on a shoe:}
V V '07 {initially misread as W '07}

Believed to be the first public sculpture in London commissioned by a Livery Company. We would have expected the inscriptions (WDR and W) to refer to the sculptor but perhaps it's the founder. The Vintners and Dyers Companies share in the ownership of mute swans with the monarch and it is their job to catch and ring them in a ceremony known as 'swan upping' done each June. See A London Inheritance for info including photos. The Swan Marker is in charge of the Vintners’ Swan Uppers for the event, but also wears the uniform of Barge Master, dating back to the time when the Company owned a ceremonial barge on the Thames.

2023: We were pleased to receive this contact: 'The Vintners' Statue in Little Trinity Lane, EC4: Info from Past Master David Robson: "My daughter Emma came across this entry on the London Remembers website. It speculates about the inscriptions. WDR is of course me and was my gift following my year as Master. W is indeed the sculptor's sig Vivien Matlock but is in fact a double VV [as in Viv] not a W! Might it be public spirited to tell LR so they can update their entry? Best wishes David" I can add that the statue shows the late Martin Spencer as Swan Marker and Barge Master, and is a very good likeness. Stephen Freeth, Company Archivist'  Thank you David and Stephen - we have updated this page accordingly.

Site: The Vintners (1 memorial)

EC4, Little Trinity Lane

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
The Vintners

Subjects commemorated i

Vintners' Company

One of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London. Its origins s...

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
The Vintners

Created by i

Vivien Mallock

Sculptor active 2000.  Her own website.

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David Robson

Master of the Vintners' Company in 2006.

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Martin Spencer

Swan Marker and Barge Master of the Vinters Company c.2006-7. Modelled for th...

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