King George II
"George was elector of Hanover and second Hanoverian king of Great Britain and Ireland.
George was born in Hanover, Germany on 10 November 1683, the only son of the elector of Hanover. In 1705 he married Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and they had nine children.
In 1714, George's father succeeded to the British throne, and created George prince of Wales. The relationship between father and son was already poor and the prince's London residence, Leicester House, became a rival court and focus for a dissident Whig group which included Robert Walpole. He encouraged a reconciliation between father and son. This led to Walpole's inclusion in George I's administration, whereupon he lost the prince's favour. Only Caroline's intervention kept Walpole in office when the prince succeeded to the throne in 1727. He cemented his position by securing George a Civil List (allowance) from parliament of £800,000, considerably more than previous monarchs had received. Walpole also won acknowledgement of George's legitimacy from many influential Tories who supported the exiled Stuart pretender to the English throne. As a result, no senior politician deserted George's cause during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender' landed in Scotland but, after some initial success, was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
George seemed destined to imitate his father, quarrelling with his son Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, who in turn became a leader of an anti-administration faction. War broke out with Spain in 1739. In 1742 Walpole, who had dominated government since 1721, resigned. George quickly found another mentor in John Carteret who, with George, brought England into the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), prompting accusations that he was subordinating English interests to those of George's German possessions. In 1743, George led his troops into battle against the French at Dettingen, the last British king to fight in battle.
During the last decade of his life George took little interest in politics. Britain's involvement in the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763) was largely overseen by William Pitt the Elder. This period also saw the expansion of British influence in India and Canada with the military successes of Robert Clive and James Wolfe respectively.
George died on 25 October 1760. Frederick had died in 1751, leaving George's grandson to inherit the throne."
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The statue
"Although much derided over the centuries, this statue of George II in Roman dress, and reminiscent of the two statues of the king in London: by John Michael Ruysbrack at Greenwich (1735), and by John Nost the elder in Golden Square, Soho, has become an accepted part of St Helier's main square, overlooked by the States Buildings.
From The Town of St Helier, by E Toulmin Nicolle (1931) :-
The year 1751 saw a change in the Market Place. On 9 July the present statue of George II was unveiled. It stands in all probability on the very spot where once stood the Market Cross, which as we have seen was the place where all public proclamations were made and where the Laws of the States and Ordinances of the Court were promulgated. What became of this interesting relic of antiquity and when it actually disappeared must remain for the present uncertain. We know that the Market Place was paved with stones in 1668. It is possible the Market Cross may have been pulled down at this date whilst the work was being done.
An Act of the States of 30 years later, dated 22 March 1698, already cited as ordering the removal of "La Cage", refers to the erection in the Market Place of a pedestal which was to support a dial. It was to be fixed on a spot in front of the house of Clement Chevalier, the property formerly occupied by the Chronique Newspaper, and the Act of the States informs us that it was to be an ornament to the Market Place. There is no indication in the Rolls that this pedestal and dial were to replace the old Market Cross, and whether the pedestal was ever erected must remain doubtful, for 23 years later on 21 December 1720, we find the States entering into an agreement with a certain Edouard Le Preveu to erect in the Market Place at such spot as would be found most convenient for the public use a column or pillar with pedestal of the Tuscan type, 'Une colonne avec un piedestal de l'ordre Toscan.'
The column was to support a globe. That this column was never erected is quite certain for, on 7 November 1748, we find the States deciding to sue Daniel Le Preveu, a son of Edouard Le Preveu, to execute the agreement which his father had entered into with them. Daniel Le Preveu thereupon was permitted to resign his agreement in favour of one Abraham Gosset, who undertook to carry out its provisions. A couple of years later on 2 June 1750, Gosset was present at a meeting of the States and suggested that instead of constructing a Pyramid in the Market Place, he be permitted to erect a statue of HM King George II, the Statue to be of lead and to be gilded, whilst the pedestal was to be encircled by an iron railing " balustrade", which was also to be gilded.
The States agreed, and on 9 July 1751, the statue was unveiled in the presence of the Lieutenant-Governor, the Militia and a large concourse of the inhabitants. The Deputy-Viscount proclaimed the statue to be erected in honour of HM King George II. The people then gave three cheers and at a signal given from the Church Tower the guns of Elizabeth Castle fired a Royal Salute, answered by a feu-de-joie, from the Militia in the Market Place. Then were brought on the scene many bottles of wine and the King's health was drunk by all the company present. In the evening there was a general illumination of the Town."
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