Bust

Charles I - beheaded

Erection date: 1950

Inscription

{On the plaque below the bust:}
His Majesty King Charles I passed through this hall and out of a window nearly over this tablet to the scaffold in Whitehall where he was beheaded on 30th January 1649.

In about 1945 Hedley Hope-Nicholson, a Charles I fan and central member of the Society of King Charles the Martyr, found three lead busts of Charles in a Fulham builder's yard. The busts have been dated to about 1800. The best was placed here and another at nearby St Margarets church.

Site: Charles I - beheaded (1 memorial)

SW1, Whitehall, Banqueting House

A nearby modern information board informs: "King Charles I walked to his death through a Banqueting House window, on the 30th January 1649. the king crossed the scaffold, laid his head upon the block, and "stretched forth his hands". At this sign, the executioner struck Charles' head from his body.

He had been found guilty of treason by a court of Parliamentarians. For seven years England had been torn apart by a Civil War between its Parliament and King. Charles' execution was the cataclysmic event that ended the war.

The Banqueting House is the only surviving building of Whitehall Palace, which burned down in 1698. Designed in the new classical style by Inigo Jones, it was completed in 1622 and was used for diplomatic ceremonies and court entertainments. In 1635, Charles I commissioned Peter-Paul Rubens to paint magnificent ceiling paintings which are still inside."

Which window he walked through or where precisely he was beheaded is not known.  The best guess seems to be that the window was in what is now the blank wall above the bust.

Opposite the Banqueting House the archway of Horse Guards Parade carries a clock. On this face at 2 pm is a black mark, which, it is said, commemorates the death of Charles I. The time of execution had been set for early in the morning but a delay meant it actually took place at 2 pm.  The mark looks to us like an accidental smudge.

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:
Charles I - beheaded

Subjects commemorated i

King Charles I

Born Fife. Until the age of 11 he was only the 'spare' but then his 18-year o...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Charles I - beheaded

Created by i

Hedley Hope-Nicholson

Barrister, literary critic and Charles I obsessive. He hyphenated his Nichols...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Colonial Office - B14 - Livingstone

Colonial Office - B14 - Livingstone

SW1, Whitehall, Foreign Office

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
Kilburn head - 1 - Mozart

Kilburn head - 1 - Mozart

NW6, Kilburn High Road, 70-72 Traid

We've numbered these heads left to right and identified them ourselves. Do let us know if you think otherwise. The building is very plain...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Dr John Langdon Down

Dr John Langdon Down

TW11, Kingston Road, Langdon Park

We could not get close enough to take easily legible photographs and initially read the dates as '1957' but given that Normansfield close...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake

Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake

WC1, Tavistock Square Gardens

There are actually 2 busts (identical we think): one facing into the square and one facing out on the traffic.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Old Westminster Library - head 2- Shakespeare

Old Westminster Library - head 2- Shakespeare

SW1, Great Smith Street

The foundation stone is immediately to the right of the central entrance. Above the entrance: "Westminster Public Library, The united pa...

1 subject commemorated