The statue, which is best viewed from
the opposite side of the road, is about life-size. It shows Walworth wearing
robes of the 14th century and may even be those of the Mayor. His right had is
resting on his right hip and his left hand rests on the sword hanging from a
decorated belt. He has some form of hat covering his head. His gaze and body
stance is to the left towards the City of London.
The Victorian Web website [visit link]
tells us:
"Sir William Walworth by Henry
Bursill (fl. 1855-1870). 1869. Holborn Viaduct, London EC1. The gold letters on
a dark stone plaque beneath the statue reads in full: “Sir William Walworth /
Mayor 1374 to 1375 and 1380 to 1381”.
Walworth, who appears on the
reconstructed step-building, is best known for having dispatched Wat Tyler at
the time of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and so perhaps his statue is a warning
to the unrulier element in Victorian society. According to Ward-Jackson, this
sculpture may not follow the original design very accurately."
The Exploring London blog [visit
link] tells us about Walworth:
"Twice Lord Mayor of London, Sir
William Walworth is best remembered as the man who killed the leader of the
Peasant’s Revolt, Wat Tyler.
Believed to have been born in the
first half of the 14th century to a couple in Durham, Walworth at some point
moved to London where he was apprenticed to the leading fishmonger John Lovekyn
(he was also one of London’s biggest exporters of wool).
In 1368, following Lovekyn’s death,
Walworth replaced Lovekyn as the alderman of Bridge Ward. Two years later, in
1370, he was elected sheriff and the following year he became an MP (by this
stage, he was also already a major lender of money to the crown). Walworth was
first elected as mayor in 1374, elected again as an MP in 1377, and again as
mayor in 1380.
It was on 13th June, 1381,
Walworth, still London’s mayor, led the defence of London Bridge against Wat
Tyler and the rebels. He was later with the king, Richard II, when he
subsequently met with Tyler and others at Smithfield. During that encounter
Walworth stabbed Tyler and killed him, either outright or as a result his
wounds. The reason for the killing remains unclear.
Walworth was knighted on the field
for his efforts in defending the king during the rebellion and was later
involved in restoring the peace in London and in the counties of Kent and
Middlesex.
Sir William did marry but he and
his wife Margaret, who died in 1394, had no children. Following his death in
1386 at his house in Thames Street (later the Fishmonger’s Hall), he was buried
at the church of St Michael, Crooked Lane, to which he had already made some
substantial donations.
He subsequently became a hero in
popular story-telling and in 1592 was included in Richard Johnson’s book Nine
Worthies of London. A wooden statue of him was placed at the Fishmonger’s Hall
in 1685. There is a much later statue of Sir William on the Holborn
Viaduct."