Statue of King George V - Old Palace Yard, London, UK
N 51° 29.938 W 000° 07.581
30U E 699453 N 5709230
This beautiful white statue stands opposite, and facing, the Houses of Parliament on the west side of Old Palace Yard. The carved detail on the scabbard and chains of office is superb.
Waymark Code: WMPZ1V
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/14/2015
Views: 8
Wikipedia has an article about the statue of King George V that tells us:
The statue of George V in Old Palace Yard, Westminster, London, is a sculpture of George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India. The statue was sculpted prior to the Second World War and was hidden in a quarry during the war years. Other locations were suggested for the statue, including Parliament Square, but it was unveiled opposite the House of Lords in 1947.
The statue stands 10 feet (3.0 m) high and is made of Portland stone. It is located south of The Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey and opposite the House of Lords. It is a Grade II listed building, having become so on 5 February 1970.
It was announced in March 1937 by the Lord Mayor of London that William Reid Dick had been selected as the sculptor of a statue of George V. Giles Gilbert Scott was selected to design the architecture of the plinth. A location in Abingdon Street opposite the House of Lords was announced in October 1937. The construction was organised by the King George V National Memorial Committee. The original design proved controversial and resulted in some criticism: it was to feature an ornate Gothic canopy which critics described as "dwarfing" the statue itself. Following a public consultation this feature was removed from later designs.
The Amenities groups of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords opposed the citing of the statue facing the House of Lords as they were concerned it would lead to the demolition of No. 6 and 7 Old Palace Yard and houses in a nearby street. A model of the statue was exhibited in the Member's tea room of the House of Commons.
The Royal Fine Art Commission suggested that the statue should be located in Parliament Square instead of opposite the House of Lords. The construction of the statue took place on Portland prior to the Second World War, but the danger of bringing the statue to London prevented the erection of it until after the war. The carving of the statue actually took place in the Portland quarry from which the stone was produced, and during the war years it was placed inside one of the quarry's tunnels on the Island in order to prevent it from potential damage due to German bombing raids. Following the war it was moved to the Tate Gallery while the statue's site was prepared for it. The statue was placed in the original proposed spot opposite the House of Lords, which required the demolition of No. 5 Old Palace Yard. It was unveiled by King George VI, on 22 October 1947 and was attended by Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.
In 1968, the symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was drawn on the side of the plinth, provoking the question of its removal to be raised by Dudley Smith MP in the House of the Commons.
The statue of King George V is Grade II listed with the entry at the Historic England website telling us:
Statue of George V GV II Statue. Mid C20. By Sir William Reid Dick. Portland stone. Standing figure on high pedestal with steps.
Wikipedia has an article about King George V that tells us:
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War (1914–1918) until his death in 1936.
George was a grandson of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the first cousin of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. From 1877 until 1891 he served in the Royal Navy. On the death of Victoria in 1901, George's father became King Edward VII, and George was made Prince of Wales. On his father's death in 1910, he succeeded as King-Emperor of the British Empire. He was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar.
As a result of the First World War, other empires in Europe fell while his expanded to its greatest extent. In 1917, he became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape. The Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected House of Commons of the United Kingdom over the unelected House of Lords. He appointed the first Labour ministry in 1924 and in 1931, the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the empire as separate, independent kingdoms within the Commonwealth of Nations. He was plagued by illness throughout much of his later reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII.