The Statue of Queen Anne in Minehead,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England was built in 1719. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The statue depicts Queen Anne in full

court dress Court dress comprises the style of clothes and other attire prescribed for members of courts of law. Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court ( judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, gowns, ...

. It was designed by

Francis Bird Francis Bird (1667–1731) was one of the leading English sculptors of his time. He is mainly remembered for sculptures in Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. He carved a tomb for the dramatist William Congreve in Westminster Abbey and ...

, who had previously made a sculpture of the queen for St Paul's Cathedral, after a commission by Sir Jacob Bancks the local

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Minehead. Statues of the queen were a "fashionable ornament" during her reign. It was removed from its original site in St Michael's Church during restoration work in 1880. It was to have been placed in the town hall, but following a public subscription for the canopy it was re-erected at its current site in 1893.

Architecture

The statue is made of

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

. The pedestal and canopy which were added by H. Dare Bryan in 1893 are of

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

. Above the statue is a dentilled

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

and cornice

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Queen Anne's Statue, Minehead 1719 sculptures Arts in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset Grade II* listed monuments and memorials Minehead Monuments and memorials in Somerset Monuments and memorials to Anne, Queen of Great Britain Outdoor sculptures in England Statues in England