Statue of William Shakespeare, Leicester Square
A statue of William Shakespeare, by the sculptor Giovanni Fontana after an original by Peter Scheemakers, has formed the centrepiece of Leicester Square Gardens in London since 1874.
| Statue of William Shakespeare | |
|---|---|
| Year | 1874 |
| Location | Leicester Square, City of Westminster, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′37″N 0°07′48″W / 51.5104°N 0.1301°WCoordinates: 51°30′37″N 0°07′48″W / 51.5104°N 0.1301°W |
Description and history
The marble figure, copied from Scheemakers's 18th-century monument to Shakespeare in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey,[1] stands on a pedestal flanked by dolphins at the centre of a fountain. It is the result of improvements to the gardens made by the financier Albert Grant, who bought the Square in 1874 and had it refurbished to a design by James Knowles.[2]
The scroll held by Shakespeare is inscribed with a quotation from Twelfth Night (Act IV, Scene II), THERE IS NO DARKNESS BUT IGNORANCE, where the original in Poets' Corner has a misquoted passage from The Tempest. The Leicester Square statue also differs from its model in omitting portrait reliefs of Henry V, Richard III and Elizabeth I from the plinth on which Shakespeare rests.[1] The inscription on the pedestal in Leicester Square reads:
THIS ENCLOSURE/ WAS PURCHASED, LAID OUT/ AND DECORATED AS A GARDEN/ BY ALBERT GRANT ESQ[UI]RE M.P./ AND/ CONVEYED BY HIM ON THE 2ND JULY 1874/ TO THE/ METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS/ TO BE PRESERVED FOR EVER/ FOR THE FREE USE AND ENJOYMENT/ OF THE PUBLIC[3]
The statue is listed at Grade II.[4] In 2012 it underwent restoration,[5] and the cleaning was completed – by Tom Brown of London Stone Carving Limited – and new water features added in 2014.[6]
The original memorial in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey
The Leicester Square statue in 2007, before cleaning
References
- ^ a b Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 114.
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 112–13.
- ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 113.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1221890)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Shakespeare's statue in Leicester Square restored". BBC. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ "Shakespeare Monument In Leicester Square Restored With New Water Features". 3rd Dimension. Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
Bibliography
- Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press
External links
- Media related to Statue of William Shakespeare at Leicester Square at Wikimedia Commons
- Shakespeare statue returned to Leicester Square by Jaymi McCann (17 October 2012), London Evening Standard
- Bard restored to Leicester Square by Matthew Amer, Official London Theatre (2013)