A Grade I-listed statue of Queen Anne stands on a pedestal alongside the north wall of No. 15

Queen Anne's Gate Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early 18th century houses as “the best of thei ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It portrays the queen wearing a brocaded skirt and

bodice A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

and an open cloak with the insignia of the Order of the Garter; on her head is a small crown and in her hands she holds an orb and

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

. The statue, carved from Portland stone, stands on a plinth of the same material with the inscription ANNA REGINA. The pedestal consists of a fat "engaged" cylinder with a flat

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

on either side, each with scrolls adorned with carved flowers and leaves. Neither the sculptor's identity nor the exact date of the work are known, but it is probably of the early eighteenth century. __TOC__

History

When Queen Anne's Gate was built by the banker William Paterson in 1704–05, it originally formed two separate closes divided by a wall with two openings, with Queen Square to the west and Park Street to the east. The statue is first mentioned in Edward Hatton's ''A New View of London'' (1708) as being "erected in full proportion on a pedestal at the E.End of Q een ''Square'', ''Westminster''". An engraved map of 1710 depicts the statue of Queen Anne in the middle of the wall, flanked by the gateways on either side. At some point in the early 19th century the statue was moved to a new position in the square. The ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'' reported in 1814 that "the statue until of late occupied a conspicuous situation on the East end of the square, but now we find it huddled up in a corner". By 1862, the statue had lost its nose and right arm. The Earl of Caernarvon and other local residents pressed the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

to repair it, saying in a letter that the residents had long been dissatisfied with the statue's poor condition. His request received a favourable response from the First Commissioner of Works, William Cowper. Although Cowper regarded the statue as being of "little merit as a work of art", he did not "think it desirable that a statue of an illustrious sovereign should be left in a public place without a nose or right arm." The sculptor John Thomas was hired to repair it. He based the face on a "squeeze" (plaster cast) of

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 ...

's statue of Queen Anne outside St Paul's Cathedral. The right arm was replaced with a marble substitute and a replacement bronze sceptre was also installed. Queen Square 1850

The statue's poor condition was due in large part to the local children's mistaken belief that the statue represented the ill-reputed Queen Mary. They would ask "Bloody Queen Mary" to come down from her pedestal, and upon "receiving, naturally, no response,

hey would Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

assail it with missiles". Cowper recommended in 1862 that "if the name of Queen Anne be written in legible characters on the pedestal, their puerile outrage will not be repeated." The inscription was therefore added by John Thomas as part of his restoration work. Nonetheless the vandalism continued, and it was not until a generation later that the complaints ceased. Another legend concerning the statue holds that on 1 August, the anniversary of Queen Anne's death, the statue climbs down and walks three times up and down the street. The dividing wall between the two streets was demolished in 1873 to form the present Queen Anne's Square, and at that time the statue was removed to its present position. It became the subject of a long-running dispute over ownership, as it was not brought into the care of the Office of Works when the Public Statues Act 1854 was enacted. The owner of 15 Queen Anne's Gate permitted the Office of Works to carry out repairs in 1862 but objected to its removal and did not transfer it into public ownership. In 1938, the house's then owner, E. Thornton Smith, carried out repairs at his own expense. He resolved the question of ongoing maintenance through his position as Master of the

Worshipful Company of Gardeners The Worshipful Company of Gardeners is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of Gardeners existed in the middle of the fourteenth century; it received a royal charter in 1605. The company no longer exists as a regu ...

by presenting the statue to the Company and arranging that it would pay for any future repairs with the Office of Works carrying out the work. An 18-inch thick brick wall was built around the statue in 1940 to protect it from enemy bombing during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

; it was only in April 1947 that the wall was removed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Statue of Queen Anne, Queen Anne's Gate 1705 establishments in England 18th-century sculptures

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Limestone sculptures in the United Kingdom Limestone statues Monuments and memorials in London Monuments and memorials to Anne, Queen of Great Britain Outdoor sculptures in London

Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom Royal monuments in the United Kingdom

History

See also

References

External links