ART AND ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED

What's the oldest statue in London? A statue of Alfred the Great, standing in leafy Trinity Church Square, Southwark, was long thought to be the oldest freestanding statue in London, believed to be one of a group ordered by Richard II for Westminster Hall in 1395. However, studies in 2021 showed that the top half is no older than the late 18th century – whereas the lower half is Roman in origin, probably part of a statue of Minerva created c80–130 AD. The crown for the oldest whole free-standing statue thus goes to a round-faced, smiling Elizabeth I, at St Dunstan-in-the-West on Fleet Street, which was removed from the City’s old Ludgate in 1760. Assuming the date ‘1586’ carved into the base is correct, it’s the only surviving statue of…

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History Revealed (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 2024

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