John Somers - Palace of Westminster, London, UK
N 51° 29.975 W 000° 07.555
30U E 699481 N 5709299
This marble statue of John Somers is located within St Stephen's Hall in the Palace of Westminster. The sculpture was created c1857 as a part of the building.
Waymark Code: WMZMWT
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/04/2018
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The statue is in an area where an entrance fee is charged. Currently, December 2018, the cost of an adult audio tour is £18.50. Check online for dates when the Palace of Westminster is accessible to the public.
Once in the Palace of Westminster, photography is restricted and photos may only be taken in Westminster Hall and St Stephen's Hall. The areas where photography is not allowed are clearly indicated.
The co-ordinates given are for the visitor entrance to the Palace of Westminster in Cromwell Green.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica website has an article about John Somers that advises:
John Somers, Baron Somers, in full John Somers, Baron Somers of Evesham, (born March 4, 1651, Whiteladies, Claines, near Worcester, Worcestershire, England—died April 26, 1716, Brookmans, near Mimms North, Hertfordshire), English statesman, chief minister to King William III of England from 1696 to 1700, and a leader of the group of influential Whigs known as the Junto from 1696 to 1716.
Admitted to the bar in 1676, he made his reputation by assisting in the successful defense (1688) of the seven Anglican bishops who were brought to trial for sedition by the Roman Catholic king James II. After James was replaced by William of Orange (later King William III), Somers was elected to Parliament (1689), and he became chairman of the committee that drew up the Bill of Rights. William appointed him attorney general (1692) and lord keeper of the great seal (1693); by 1696 he had become the king’s leading adviser and the spokesman for Whig opinion. He became lord high chancellor and was elevated to the peerage in 1697, but the Tory majority in the House of Commons attacked him so vigorously that William asked for his resignation in 1700. In 1701 he was impeached by the House of Commons for abuse of ministerial power and his role in the Partition Treaties, but the House of Lords acquitted him. Although Queen Anne (ruled 1702–14) made him lord president of the Privy Council in 1708, Somers fell from power when the Tories won control of the government in 1710. In 1714 he became a member of George I’s privy council. He died two years later without issue, and the barony became extinct.
The marble statue is slightly larger than life-size and depicts Somers standing upright and wearing robes. Between his hands, on his left hip, he appears to be holding a bag(?) that is decorated with a coat-of-arms and has tassles attached to the corners. He has long, curled hair that is possibly a wig given his status as a lawyer.