The statue of Edward VI by

Peter Scheemakers Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicist style had an important influenc ...

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

is one of two statues of the king at the hospital. Both commemorate Edward's re-founding of the hospital in 1551. It was moved to its current location inside the North Wing of the hospital in the 20th century. The sculpture was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1979.

History

Edward VI

Edward VI was the son of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and his third queen,

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

. Born on 12 October 1537, he succeed his father at the age of nine in 1547 but never attained his majority, dying aged 15 in 1553. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

St Thomas', as a religious foundation, was deprived of its revenues and estates and was closed in 1540. In 1551, Edward granted a charter for the hospital's refounding.

St Thomas' Hospital

The origin of St Thomas' Hospital was the sick house attached to the Church of St Mary Overie in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, founded in the 12th century. By the late 17th century, the hospital was in a dilapidated state and Sir Robert Clayton, the hospital's President, employed the architect, and St Thomas' governor, Thomas Cartwright to undertake complete rebuilding. The new buildings, of red brick and in a classical style were completed just after Clayton's death, in 1709. The statue of Edward was erected in a courtyard of the rebuilt complex in 1739. In 1872, following the complete reconstruction of the hospital on a site further up the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

at Lambeth, the statue was moved to the new site and has been repositioned subsequently.

Description

The sculptor Peter Scheemakers came from a family of sculptors. Of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

origin, both his father and his two sons worked in the profession. He came to London some time before 1720 and made his reputation with the bust of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in 1740. His statue of Edward VI predates that work. In bronze, the effigy shows the king in period dress. The inscription on the plinth records that the cost of the sculpture was met by Charles Toye Esq., Treasurer of the hospital. The sculpture was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1979.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edward 6, statue, Scheemakers Bronze sculptures in London Buildings and structures completed in 1737 Statues in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Lambeth Grade II* listed monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in London Sculptures of men in London Royal monuments in the United Kingdom