John Winthrop - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 21.225 W 071° 04.503
19T E 329100 N 4691139
A statue of John Winthrop is located in front of the First Church of Boston in the Back Bay area of Boston at 66 Marlborough Street.
Waymark Code: WMHQAB
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/04/2013
Views: 4
John Winthrop (1588-1649) was wealthy English Puritan lawyer and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He served twelve terms as Governor between 1630 and 1649 and he was one of the founder of the First Church in Boston, established in 1630.
A 7' by 2.5' by 2.25' bronze statue of John Winthrop stands with his right foot forward on a 4.5' by 4' by 8' concrete base. The sculpture is a bronze replica of a marble statue by Richard Saltonstall Greenough located in Statuary Hall at the U. S. Capitol.
He is dressed in a long shirt with a very large ruffled collar. He also wears a belt around the shirt, knee breeches, and fancy shoes. he is carrying a large book, clutched to his chest, with his left hand. In his right hand he is holding a seal and scroll representing the Colony's charter. To his right is a tree stump with a rope wrapped around it.
In 1880, the sculpture was originally installed in Scollay Square. It was moved to its present location in 1904 when the subway was constructed in Scollay Square. In 1968, fire destroyed the First Church and the sculpture was removed pending completion of the new First Church. It was reinstalled in 1975.
A bronze plaque below the statue is inscribed:
JOHN WINTHROP
FIRST GOVERNOR OF
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY
ONE OF THE FOUNDERS
OF BOSTON
AND OF THE
FIRST CHURCH IN BOSTON
A.D. 1630
Biography of John Winthrop