The equestrian statue of Charles I is the oldest bronze statue in London. It did not begin as a public monument. It was commissioned in 1630 for a garden in Roehampton before the King's head was separated from his shoulders in 1649.
Then things got messy. Parliament ordered the statue destroyed after the English Civil War. A metalsmith named John Rivet took the job but acted as a rogue. He hid the statue on his premises and produced some broken pieces of brass as evidence that he had followed his instructions. He sold brass-handled cutlery to both Royalists and Parliamentarians, claiming it was made from the remains of the statue. He kept the real thing hidden until the Restoration. The King bought it back and placed it here in 1675.
Does it have a practical purpose today? It serves as the central point of London. If you see a road sign measuring the distance to the city, that measurement starts right here. It faces down Whitehall towards the place of Charles's execution at Banqueting House.
Can you still see it clearly? You can, though it has suffered some rough patches. It was moved for safety during the Second World War. It lost its sword and badge in 1844. They added replacements and a bronze tablet to explain the change. It is a survivor of a very long and very complicated life.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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