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Equestrian statue of William III
Artist	generally attributed to John or Henry Cheere
Completion date	18th century
Type	Equestrian statue
Medium	Lead
Subject	William III
Location	Petersfield
Coordinates	51°00′14″N 0°56′15″W / 51.0038°N 0.9374°W / 51.0038; -0.9374
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Statue of William III
Designated	29 July 1949
Reference no.	1093567

The equestrian statue of William III stands in The Square, Petersfield, Hampshire, England. Dating from the 18th century, it has been attributed to John Cheere or possibly to his brother, Henry. The statue is a Grade I listed structure.

History

William III, Prince of Orange, ascended the English throne in 1688 following the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution. William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary, James's daughter, until her death in 1694, and then solely until his own death in 1702. In the 18th century, it became fairly common for members of the Whig Ascendancy to assert their support for the Protestant Succession, and by implication their opposition to the Jacobite challenge, by commemorating William. This approach was adopted in Petersfield by William Jolliffe, who served as member of parliament for Petersfield from 1734 to 1741. a borough controlled by his family. Jolliffe left £500 in his will for the erection of a statue of William, which was sculpted in c.1757 and placed at the entrance to Petersfield House, the Jolliffe home in the town. Following the demolition of the house in the 1790s, the statue was moved to its present position in The Square. Purchased by the town council in 1911, it underwent a major restoration in 1913. It was again restored in 2023.

Description

The sculpture is in lead and depicts William in the style of a Roman senator. The statue was originally gilded. It stands on a stone plinth. The front of the plinth carries an original Latin inscription, which is translated in a modern dedicatory plaque attached to the side. Historic England's listing record does not ascribe a name to the sculptor but most sources follow Pevsner. Michael Bullen, James Crook and Rodney Hubbuck, in their Hampshire: Winchester and the North volume in the Buildings of England series, revised and published in 2010, confidently attribute it to John Cheere, although they suggest that the original design may have been by his elder brother, Henry. The attribution is not, however, universally accepted. In 2003, the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art, when considering the case of a sculpture by Henry Cheere of the lawyer George Cooke, described the Petersfield statue as "one of largest undertakings".

The statue was designated a Grade I listed structure, the highest grading given to buildings and structures of "exceptional interest", in 1949.

Gallery

• Oblique view
• Dedicatory plaque
• Part of the memorial inscription on the plinth
• View of plinth and setting

See also

• Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire
• List of public art in Hampshire

Notes

1. William III's symbolic importance to the cause of Ulster Protestantism saw the statue become the subject of some local controversy at the time of the 2023 restoration. A tribute march-past by members of the Portsmouth lodge of the Loyal Orange Institution of England was disrupted by pro-Catholic and pro-Irish independence hecklers, and a public debate as to the appropriateness of the statue in the 21st century was conducted in the local media.

References

1. ^ Historic England. "Statue of William III (Grade I) (1093567)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
2. Troost 2005, pp. 207–210.
3. "William III". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
4. "Time takes its toll on King William III's statue". Petersfield Post. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
5. "Sir William Jolliffe (1660-1750), of Ewell, Surrey and Pleshey, Essex". History of Parliament On-line. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
6. Van Tolberg, Kees (6 April 2016). "Equestrian statue of William III in Petersfield UK". Equestrian Statues. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
7. Ferguson, Paul (22 July 2023). "King Billy is on the move: but do we want him back?". Petersfield Post. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
8. "Were we wrong for questioning Petersfield's King Billy statue? You decide..." Petersfield Post. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
9. "William III statue returned to Petersfield town square". BBC News. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
10. Ferguson, Paul (26 October 2023). "Petersfield's 'King' Billy is back on his horse after restoration". Petersfield Post. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
11. Page 1908, pp. 111–121.
12. Bullen et al. 2019, p. 451.
13. Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Export of Works of Art 2002-2003 - see "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources

• Bullen, Michael; Crook, John; Hubbuck, Rodney; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2019). Hampshire: Winchester and the North. Pevsner Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12084-4.
• Page, William (1908). A History of the County of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Victoria County History. Vol. 3. London: Victoria County History. OCLC 927027156.
• Troost, Wout (2005). William III, The Stadholder-king: A Political Biography. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Press. ISBN 9780754650713. OCLC 470178112.

See also

• Cultural depictions of William III of England

External links

• Media related to Equestrian statue of William III (Petersfield) at Wikimedia Commons

• Equestrian statues in the United Kingdom
• Grade I listed monuments and memorials
• Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire
• Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom
• Statues of William III of England
• Royal monuments in the United Kingdom