Britannia -- Statue of Queen Anne, St. Paul's Cathedral, City of London, UK
N 51° 30.821 W 000° 06.007
30U E 701209 N 5710937
A representation of Britannia on the base of the statue of Queen Anne in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London
Waymark Code: WMTCPH
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/02/2016
Views: 5
The figure of Britannia, one of four statues that encircle the base of the replica statue of Queen Anne that stands in front of St Paul's cathedral in London.
From the Secret London Blog: (
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"ANNE was Queen when St Paul’s was built in 1710. The weather-beaten original of this 1712 sculpture by Francis Bird was replaced with a replica by Richard Belt in 1885. The figures on the base represent England, Ireland, France and North America, all of which Queen Anne laid claim to. Note the Royal Coat of Arms of the time are quartered with the French Fleur-di-Lis as well as the Irish Harp and English Lions.
The original (and many say better) statue ended up in the possession of a 19th-century travel writer, Augustus Hare, and can be seen at his former home, Holmhurst, in Baldslow in Sussex. . . ."
Britannia's warlike appearance was based on the Roman Goddess Minerva.
From Wikipedia: (
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"Britannia was the Greek and Roman term for the geographical region of Great Britain which was inhabited by the Britons and is the name given to the female personification of the island. It is a term still used to refer to the island today. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain; however, by the 1st century BC, Britannia came to be used for Great Britain specifically. In AD 43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, which came to encompass the parts of the island south of Caledonia (roughly Scotland). The native Celtic inhabitants of the province are known as the Britons. In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet. . . .
Renaissance and British Empire
It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that "Britannia" came to be viewed as a personification of Britain. In his 1576 General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation, John Dee used a frontispiece figure of Britannia kneeling by the shore beseeching Elizabeth I, to protect her empire by strengthening her navy.
. . .
Perhaps the best analogy is that Britannia is to the United Kingdom and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy."