Bust

Knightsbridge - 3 - Roberts

Erection date: 1905

Stephen Brasher suggested that this is Field Marshal Lord Roberts and, having examined a number of portraits, especially one here, we agree.

Site: Knightsbridge - 6 busts (6 memorials)

SW1, Knightsbridge, 55 - 91

This huge building, Grade 2 listed and in need of a clean, is actually 18 buildings behind a unifying facade designed by W. D. Caroe, in red brick with stone dressings in an eclectic Queen Anne/Flemish style. 1902 - 5. Built as a mansion block but unusually there were seven developers who designed their own segments behind the facade.

A 2010 planning application contains a few drawings and early photographs but there is no mention of these busts, numbered here left to right.  

When we published these 6 busts we were pretty confident with our identification of heads 1 and 2 but were struggling to identify the others.  Readers quickly sent in some helpful suggestions, readers more familiar with the faces of celebrities from that period than we are.  So we have corrected our identifications, but if you think we still have it wrong please let us know.

The second floor corner at Wilton Place carries a rather splendid royal crest with the top-most lion looking more like a lap-dog.

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This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Knightsbridge - 3 - Roberts

Subjects commemorated i

Earl Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar

British field marshal, served in India and the Boer War. Born India to an Iri...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Knightsbridge - 3 - Roberts

Also at this site i

Knightsbridge - 4 - Kitchener

Knightsbridge - 4 - Kitchener

Stalin?  Can't be - for so many reasons, one being that he didn't look like t...

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Knightsbridge - 5 - Temple

Knightsbridge - 5 - Temple

We original thought this was Gladstone (who had died only a few years before)...

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Knightsbridge - 6 - Salisbury

Knightsbridge - 6 - Salisbury

Lea Cornthwaite suggested this might be the Duke of Cambridge. Stephen Brashe...

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Nearby Memorials

James Palmer bust

James Palmer bust

SW1, Rochester Row, 42

The plaque immediately below the bust is blank but there are 4 others below that, each with an inscription.  The text of the upper three ...

11 subjects commemorated
Old Westminster Library - head 1 - Spenser

Old Westminster Library - head 1 - Spenser

SW1, Great Smith Street

We first thought Francis Bacon but he normally has more hair, and, so far, all the heads are literary rather than scientific.

1 subject commemorated
Morley mosaics - KEW - Jude Kelly

Morley mosaics - KEW - Jude Kelly

SE1, King Edward Walk, Morley College

These 10 portrait mosaics are the result of a project by Morley College to celebrate the achievements of significant women who have lived...

2 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Kilburn head - 3 - Bach

Kilburn head - 3 - Bach

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
Knightsbridge - 6 - Salisbury

Knightsbridge - 6 - Salisbury

SW1, Knightsbridge, 55 - 91

Lea Cornthwaite suggested this might be the Duke of Cambridge. Stephen Brasher suggested Lord Salisbury.   Comparing pictures of the cont...

1 subject commemorated