Bust

Sir Walter Besant - Victoria Embankment

Erection date: 1902

Inscription

{Below the bust:}
Sir Walter Besant
Novelist, historian of London, secretary of the Palestine Exploration Fund, originator of the People's Palace and Founder of the Society of Authors. This monument is erected by his grateful brethren in literature. Born 14th August 1836 - Died 9th June 1901.

{Inscribed below the bust, at bottom right:}
Geo. Frampton, 1902 {or 1}

Bronze. Replica of the bust in St Paul's. Albeit this is a relief rather than a statue in the round it is rare for the subject to be wearing spectacles. What a splendid visage.

Site: Sir Walter Besant - Victoria Embankment (1 memorial)

WC2, Victoria Embankment

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:
Sir Walter Besant - Victoria Embankment

Subjects commemorated i

Sir Walter Besant

Novelist and London historian.  Born Portsmouth. 1884 co-founded the Society ...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Sir Walter Besant - Victoria Embankment

Created by i

Sir George Frampton

Sculptor.  Born at 91 Brook Street, Lambeth. Died at home at 91 Carlton Hill,...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Colonial Office - B12 - Elizabeth

Colonial Office - B12 - Elizabeth

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
Unknown bust 2

Unknown bust 2

SW1, South Eaton Place, 26

Bust 1, to the south, shows some damage but, we hope you agree, both busts represent the same man. But who? Only a few months later we c...

Viscount Sherbrooke bust

Viscount Sherbrooke bust

SW1, St Margaret Street, St Margarets Church

We again thank David Hopkins for the Latin transcription (from some tortuous Gothic lettering) and translation. We've searched but the r...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Colonial Office - B17 - Cook

Colonial Office - B17 - Cook

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
Moncure Conway bust - lost

Moncure Conway bust - lost

WC1, Red Lion Square, Conway Hall

In the early 1900s Moncure Conway retired to Paris, where he met and became good friends with sculptor  Spicer Simson, still in the early...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator

Previously viewed

Fire of London plaque - Museum of London

Fire of London plaque - Museum of London

EC3, Monument Street

This is a large plaque, perhaps 2 or 3 feet wide. We tracked this plaque down at the Museum of London in November 2021 (before the Museu...

3 subjects commemorated