Statue of Charles II
A statue of Charles II was carved by Danish sculptor Caius Gabriel Cibber in 1681 and placed at the centre of Soho Square in London. By the early 19th century, the statue was described as being 'in a most wretched mutilated state; and the inscriptions on the base of the pedestal quite illegible'.
In 1875, the statue was removed during alterations in the square by T. Blackwell, of Crosse and Blackwell, the venerable canned and bottled foodstuffs firm, who gave it for safekeeping to his friend, Goodall, with the intention that it might be restored. Goodall placed the statue on an island in his lake at Grim's Dyke, where it remained while Gilbert owned the property. In her will, Lady Gilbert directed that the statue be returned, and it was restored to Soho Square in 1938.
Read more about this topic: Grim's Dyke
Famous quotes containing the words statue of and/or statue:
“The statue of Freedom has not been cast yet, the furnace is hot, we can all still burn our fingers.”
—Georg Büchner (1813–1837)
“The mind, in short, works on the data it receives very much as a sculptor works on his block of stone. In a sense the statue stood there from eternity. But there were a thousand different ones beside it, and the sculptor alone is to thank for having extricated this one from the rest.”
—William James (1842–1910)