Dean Christopher Urswick -- St. George's Chapel, Lower Ward, Winsdor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, UK
N 51° 29.011 W 000° 36.417
30U E 666157 N 5706311
The statue of Dean Christopher Urswick stands in a niche on the south side of St George's Chapel in the Lower Ward of Windsor Castle.
Waymark Code: WMTC9F
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/31/2016
Views: 3
The statue of Dean Christopher Urswick at the south side of St George's Chapel looks to be larger than life size, maybe 1.5-2x times life size. Since it is so far off the ground, it is hard to tell how large the statues are.
Dean Urswich is wearing simple clerical roves and a medieval-style priest's cap. He holds a book in front of him, which is most likely a copy of the Holy Bible.
From the Encyclopedia Britanninca (1911): (
visit link)
"CHRISTOPHER URSWICK (1448-1522), English diplomatist, was born at Furness in Lancashire and was probably educated at Cambridge. He became chaplain to Margaret, countess of Richmond and Derby, and was employed by her to forward the schemes for securing the English throne for her son, Henry of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII. He crossed from Harfleur to Wales with Henry in August 1485, and was present at the battle of Bosworth; then followed for him a series of ecclesiastical preferments, the most important of which was to the deanery of York. He was sent on several weighty embassies, including one to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to arrange the marriage between Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, and another to France in 1492, when he signed the treaty of Etaples. In 1495 he became dean of Windsor, and he died on the 24th of March 1522. Urswick was very friendly with Erasmus and with Sir Thomas More. He did some building at Windsor, and one of the chapels in St George's chapel there is still called the Urswick chapel. Urswick's kinsman, Sir Thomas Urswick, was a Yorkist partisan, who was recorder of London and chief baron of the exchequer."
Further documentation of the statue is found in an email I received from an archivist at St George's Chapel Archives:
"Dear Laura (if I may),
Thank you for contacting us with your enquiry. I have found information about these statues in an old guide book which is no longer in print. It seems that it is not mentioned in any of the Chapel's current guide books, though I do not know why.
From 'St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle: a pocket companion' by Major General R.L.C. Dixon: Erected 1882-83 in Ancaster stone, designed and made Messrs. Farmer and Brindley, 67 Westminster Bridge Road, London, paid for by Knights of the Garter. From east to west: Henry III, Edward III, Henry VI, Edward IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Charles I, George III, Bishop Beauchamp (with model of Chapel in left hand), Sir Reginald Bray, Dean Urswick. . . .
Kate McQuillian
Assistant Archivist"