Statue

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.

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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

Frieze of Parnassus - Bird

Frieze of Parnassus - Bird

SW7, Kensington Road

The monument, officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, celebrates Victorian achievement and Prince Albert's passions and i...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Livingstone statue

Livingstone statue

SW7, Kensington Gore, Royal Geographic Society

In Kensington Gore façade, on right of picture.  The unveiling ceremony is detailed here (thanks to Jamie Davis for the link).

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
6 Burlington Gardens - Hunter

6 Burlington Gardens - Hunter

W1, Burlington Gardens, 6

There are 22 statues on the façade of this building. Each is labelled with his (always 'his') surname. There are 12 at the top up against...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Holborn Viaduct - Walworth

Holborn Viaduct - Walworth

EC4, Holborn Viaduct

The sword he sports represents the one which removed Tyler's head, the original of which (the sword, not the head) is on display at the F...

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