William of Wykeham - Cromwell Gardens, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 29.781 W 000° 10.256
30U E 696371 N 5708818
This statue of William of Wykeham is one of many adorning the Cromwell Gardens facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Waymark Code: WMW0JA
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/22/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 1

The statue, that is probably 150% life-size, is set into an alcove that incorporates a pedestal. The statue is carved from a similar stone to that forming the alcove - probably Portland stone.

The statue shows William of Wykeham in a standing position. He his bishop's robes. In his hands, left hand on top, he is holding a model of Winchester College.In the crook of his left elbow is the bishop's crozier that stands on the bround between his feet. On his head is a bishop's mitre.

The name of the sculptor, Wenlock Rollins, is carved into the alcove behind the pedestal with the name "Wykeham" carved at the base of the pedestal.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica website has an article about Wykeham that tells us:

William of Wykeham, Wykeham also spelled Wickham (born 1324, Wickham, Hampshire, Eng.—died Sept. 27, 1404, Bishops Waltham, Hampshire), English prelate and statesman, the founder of Winchester College and of New College, Oxford.

Wykeham evidently came from a very poor family. Wealthy patrons helped him obtain an education, and about 1356 he entered the service of King Edward III. By the mid-1360s he was the king’s most trusted assistant. In 1367 he was made chancellor of England and bishop of Winchester, but he lost the former post (1371) in an anticlerical reaction led by the powerful John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. He then became a bitter opponent of Gaunt, who had assumed control of the government of the senile king Edward. Gaunt retaliated by hounding Wykeham with charges of corruption. The bishop received a royal pardon on the accession of King Richard II, whom he served as chancellor from 1389 to 1391.

Meanwhile, Wykeham was working to found his educational institutions. He built New College, beginning in 1380, and in 1382 he founded at Winchester a school (see Winchester College) to prepare boys for study at New College.

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

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