Statue

V&A façade - Wren

Erection date: 1909

Inscription

Chrisr. Wren

Site: Victoria & Albert Museum façade (38 memorials)

SW7, Cromwell Road

Excluding the allegories (such as Knowledge) there are 36 statues on the two public façades of the V&A Museum, on Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road. This building was designed by Aston Webb and built 1899-1909. Each statue has the subject's name on a label beneath the feet and the sculptor's name inscribed in the wall of the niche to the right of the statue. Starting in Cromwell Road and reading right to left:

Group of 6 British architects:
Chas. Barry
W. Chambers
Chrisr. Wren
Inigo Jones
John Thorpe
Wykeham

Group of 5 British painters:
J. E. Millais
Ld. Leighton
G. F. Watts
J. Constable
J. M. W. Turner

And flanking the entrance:
Queen Alexandra (to the right)
King Edward VII (to the left)

Albert (below the arch)
Victoria (in the arch)

On either side of the arch, at eye level there is a foundation stone:
Stone laid by Edward VII (to the right)
Stone laid by Victoria (to the left)

Group of 5 British painters:
R. Cosway
G. Romney
T. Gainsborough
J. Reynolds
W. Hogarth

Group of 6 British sculptors:
Alfred Stevens
John H. Foley
F. L. Chantrey
John Flaxman
John Bacon
Grinlg. Gibbons

And around the corner in Exhibition Road:

Group of 5 British craftsmen:
William Morris
Roger Payne
J. Wedgwood
T. Chippendale
Thos. Tompion

Group of 5 British craftsmen:
Huntingn. Shaw
George Heriot
William Caxton
William Torel
St. Dunstan

Note that there are more Johns than women but that's not difficult since, excluding royalty, there are no women!

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Wren

Subjects commemorated i

Sir Christopher Wren

Born East Knoyle, Wiltshire, died London.  Designer of 54 London churches, o...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Wren

Created by i

Oliver Wheatley

For some more of his work in London see the ever excellent Ornamental Passions.

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Wren

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

V&A façade - Gibbons

V&A façade - Gibbons

SW7, Cromwell Road

Excluding the allegories (such as Knowledge) there are 36 statues on the two public façades of the V&A Museum, on Exhibition Road and...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Robert Napier statue - SW7

Robert Napier statue - SW7

SW7, Queen's Gate

We have a query concerning the designe of this statue . . .  Firstly, note that in 1883 Boehm had already produced a similar Napier statu...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Barry Mason - steel statue

Barry Mason - steel statue

SE16, Brunswick Quay

The 'statue' represents his passion for cycling. It is topped by a cormorant, a bird that frequents the dock area.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Captain Richard Maples - gone

Captain Richard Maples - gone

E1, Mile End Road, Trinity Almshouses - green north of church

This B&W photo is from London Picture Archive where it is captioned: "Trinity Almshouses, statue of Captain Richard Maples, removed f...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
FCO - E unknown

FCO - E unknown

SW1, Horse Guards Road, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign Office was completed in 1873 to the 1861 designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, with Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt for the St James’s...

Previously viewed

Keats statue at Guy's Hospital

Keats statue at Guy's Hospital

SE1, Great Maze Pond, Guy's Hospital - the Colonnade

Unveiled by Andrew Motion, author of a Keats biography. The quotation comes from Keats’ epic poem "Fall of Hyperion. A Dream", 1819.

1 subject commemorated, 6 creators
J. Buteux Skeggs

J. Buteux Skeggs

Andrew Behan has kindly carried out some research on this man: James Buteux Skeggs was born in 1860 in Shoreditch, the son of James William Skeggs and Sarah Ann Skeggs née Buteux. His father was a ...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Mr A.T.T. Cowling

Mr A.T.T. Cowling

Associated with the Abbey Tavern in Kentish Town in 1891.

Person, Other

1 memorial
V1 and V2 rockets

V1 and V2 rockets

The V1 and V2 rockets were developed as a reaction to the heavy allied bombing of German cities towards the end of WW2. (V stands for Vergeltungswaffe - retribution weapon'). In total, over 3,000 V...

Event, Tragedy

28 memorials