Statue of Edward VI (Cartwright)

Last updated

Statue of Edward VI
Statue of Edward VI outside Saint Thomas' Hospital (04).jpg
Artist Thomas Cartwright
Completion date1682
TypeSculpture
Medium Purbeck marble
Subject Edward VI
Location London
Coordinates 51°29′59″N0°07′08″W / 51.4998°N 0.1188°W / 51.4998; -0.1188
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameStone Statue of Edward VI
Designated30 May 1979
Reference no.1319933

The statue of Edward VI by Thomas Cartwright at St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London is one of two statues of that king at the hospital. Both commemorate Edward's re-founding of the institution in 1551. The statue was designed by Nathaniel Hanwell and carved by Thomas Cartwright in 1682, during the rebuilding undertaken by Sir Robert Clayton when President of the hospital. The statue originally formed the centrepiece of a group of figures which adorned the gateway on Borough High Street. It was moved to its current location at the north entrance to the North Wing on Lambeth Palace Road in the 20th century. It was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1979.

Contents

History

Edward VI

Edward VI was the son of Henry VIII and his third queen, Jane Seymour. 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. [1] During the Reformation St Thomas', as a religious foundation, was deprived of its revenues and estates and was closed in 1540. [2] In 1551, Edward granted a charter for the hospital's refounding. [3]

St Thomas' Hospital

The origin of St Thomas' Hospital was the sick house attached to the Church of St Mary Overie [4] in Southwark, founded in the 12th century. [5] By the late 17th century, the hospital was in a dilapidated state and Sir Robert Clayton, the hospital's President, employed Thomas Cartwright, a master mason and a governor of St Thomas', to undertake complete rebuilding. [6] Cartwright had worked as a mason for Christopher Wren at St Paul's Cathedral. [7] The new buildings, of red brick and in a classical style, were completed just after Clayton's death, in 1709. [4] The statue of Edward, along with its accompanying figures, decorated a gateway in the new complex. In 1872, following the complete reconstruction of the hospital on land further up the River Thames at Lambeth, [6] the statue was moved to the new site and has been repositioned subsequently. [8]

Description

The statues of hospital patients which formerly accompanied that of the king, on display at the Science Museum Patient statues from St Thomas's Hospital.jpg
The statues of hospital patients which formerly accompanied that of the king, on display at the Science Museum

The statue was commissioned by Robert Clayton, designed by Nathaniel Hanwell and carved by Thomas Cartwright. [8] It formed the centrepiece of a grouping that stood on the gateway to the hospital from Borough High Street. The king was originally flanked by carvings of two pairs of disabled figures; [9] since 2019 these have been on display at the Science Museum. [10] The statue is of Purbeck limestone and the order for "effigies of King Edward the Sixth and fower cripples to be carved in stone" was placed on 11 November 1681. [7] Cartwright charged £190 for the work. [9]

The king is portrayed in Tudor clothing and wearing a crown. He holds a sceptre in his right hand and the charter authorising the re-establishment of St Thomas' in his left. [11] [a] The statue stands on a modern plinth. The statue was listed as a Grade II* structure in 1979. [11]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ At some point prior to a September 2013 photograph, the right arm had been damaged and removed. Photographic evidence shows that it had been repaired and replaced by February 2016. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanwell</span> Town in London, England

Hanwell is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GKT School of Medical Education</span> Medical school of Kings College London

GKT School of Medical Education is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth) in London – with the initial of each hospital making up the acronymous name of the school. The school in its current guise was formed following a merger with the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals on 1 August 1998. As of 2023, the medical school is ranked 5th best in the UK for clinical medicine by U.S. News & World Report, and 10th best worldwide by Times Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Thomas' Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital and other sites. It is also a member of King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre, and is one of three sites used by King's College London GKT School of Medical Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret</span> Medical museum in London, England

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street is a museum of surgical history and one of the oldest surviving operating theatres. It is located in the garret of St Thomas's Church, Southwark, in London, on the original site of St Thomas' Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy's Hospital</span> Hospital in central London

Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by Thomas Guy, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre.

Thomas Thirlby, was the first and only bishop of Westminster (1540–50), and afterwards successively bishop of Norwich (1550–54) and bishop of Ely (1554–59). While he acquiesced in the Henrician schism, with its rejection in principle of the Roman papacy, he remained otherwise loyal to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church during the English Reformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Clayton (City of London MP)</span> British merchant banker and politician

Sir Robert Clayton (1629–1707) was an English merchant banker, politician and Lord Mayor of London.

Events from the 1550s in England. This decade marks the beginning of the Elizabethan era.

Retford Oaks Academy is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the market town of Retford, Nottinghamshire, England, situated in the district of Bassetlaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coventry Cross</span> Monument in Coventry

Coventry Cross was an important landmark in the cathedral city of Coventry, England. Standing between Cuckoo Lane and Holy Trinity Church and in the alley known as Trinity Churchyard, it was a modern version of the historic market cross, such as was common in many medieval market towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Jennings</span> British sculptor

Martin Jennings, FRSS is a British sculptor who works in the figurative tradition, in bronze and stone. His statue of John Betjeman at St Pancras railway station was unveiled in 2007 and the statue of Philip Larkin at Hull Paragon Interchange station was presented in 2010. His statue of Mary Seacole (2016), one of his largest works, stands in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital in central London, looking over the Thames towards the Houses of Parliament.

This is a list of the etymology of street names in the London districts of Kennington and Lambeth. The areas have no formally defined boundaries – those utilised here are Westminster Bridge Road/St George's Circus/London Road to the north, Newington Butts/Kennington Park Road to the east, Kennington Road and Black Prince Road to the south and the river Thames to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Charles II, Royal Hospital Chelsea</span> Statue in London by Grinling Gibbons

The statue of Charles II stands in the Figure, or Middle, Court of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London. The sculptor was Grinling Gibbons, and the statue was executed around 1680–1682. The king founded the Royal Hospital in 1682 as a home for retired army veterans. The statue is a Grade I listed structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Robert Clayton</span> Sculpture by Grinling Gibbons

The statue of Robert Clayton stands at the entrance to the North Wing of St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London. The sculptor was Grinling Gibbons, and the statue was executed around 1700–1714. Sir Robert was a banker, politician and Lord Mayor of London. As President of St Thomas', he was responsible for the complete rebuilding of the hospital, and associated church in the late 17th century. The statue was designated a Grade I listed structure in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Edward VI (Scheemakers)</span> Bronze statue at St Thomas Hospital, London

The statue of Edward VI by Peter Scheemakers at St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Mary Seacole</span> Artwork at St Thomas Hospital, London

The statue of Mary Seacole stands in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London. Sculpted by Martin Jennings, the statue was executed in 2016. It honours Mary Seacole, a British-Jamaican who established a "British Hotel" during the Crimean War and who was posthumously voted first in a poll of "100 Great Black Britons".

References

  1. ↑ "BBC History – Edward VI". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "King's Collections: Archive Catalogues: St Thomas's Hospital: Medical school records". www.kingscollections.org. King's College. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "St Thomas' Hospital". www.british-history.ac.uk. British History Online. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 "History of St Thomas' Hospital". www.florence-nightingale.co.uk. Florence Nightingale Museum London. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "St Thomas' Hospital – British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  6. 1 2 "St Thomas' Hospital, London". International Network for the History of Hospitals. 17 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 Blackwood 1989, p. 36.
  8. 1 2 Cherry & Pevsner 2002, p. 361.
  9. 1 2 "PMSA". www.pmsa.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Guy's and St Thomas' exhibits in new Science Museum galleries. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Stone Statue of Edward VI (Grade II*) (1319933)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 January 2019.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.