Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 10.djvu/595

 10 s. x. DEC. 19, 1908.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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" an equestrian statue in the centre of the square, modelled by John Cheere, represented William, Duke of Cumberland, the hero of Culloden." I have found this work so generally trustworthy that I took no further steps to " verify my quotations." I regret to say that I know nothing about John Cheere himself.

To return to the Marble Arch, I may say that on the 9th of November the King's birthday the erection of the royal gates was begun. They weigh about 40 tons, and will cost about 3,OOOZ. ; their making has occupied seventy or eighty craftsmen for over three months, and they are generally admitted to be one of the finest specimens of hammered ironwork in London. The main feature of the ornaments consists of the royal arms, surrounded by the chain of the Order of the Garter, and surmounted by a crown, from which a festoon of laurel leaves is suspended. The gates are the work of Messrs. Martyn of Cheltenham. An illustration of the coat of arms, &c., was in The Daily Graphic of 10 November. Concerning the statue of William III. in Kensington Gardens (ante, p. 371), there appeared in The Daily Mail of 7 November, copied from The Evening News, a paragraph of which a portion is worth preservation. It states that the statue

"was delivered some months ago, and was removed to Kensington late one night. For six weeks it remained under cover, and then one wet, misty morning a gang of men placed it in position, the authorities dispensing with any formal unveiling ceremony. The statue, which is of bronze, has been greatly admired by the King and members of the royal family, and those distinguished artists who have been privileged to make close inspection of it."

MB. PAGE alluded, ante, p. 123, to a statue of John, Duke of Marlborough, situated in Marlborough Square, Chelsea. To get at anything like a satisfactory solution of the query raised has occupied a considerable amount of time, but I think that I have found out all that there is to be known. Its origin appears to be buried in oblivion. No one knows anything about it, and half a day spent in Chelsea brought no reward. In the Chelsea Library there are no old pic- tures of the site, and Faulkner, Beaver, and other .writers on Chelsea history or antiquities do not mention the square or the statue. By the kindness of the Borough Surveyor (Mr. Higgins), I have got copies of some of the minutes concerning the statue. On 21 July, 1885, a report was read stating that " the improvement ordered by the Vestry in Marlborough Square will

necessitate the removal of the statue stand- ing in the centre " ; and the then Surveyor, Mr. G. R. Strachan, asked what was to^be done with it.

" It was moved by Mr. Leach, seconded by Mr. Lawrence, that Lord Randolph Churchill be asked whether he will accept the statue of his ancestor.

' An amendment was moved by Mr. Doll that the Surveyor be requested to make inquiries. This amendment found no seconder, whereupon a further amendment was moved by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Northcroft, that the Surveyor be instructed to break up the statue.

" The Surveyor having replied to an inquiry, the amendment was put to the vote, and was declared by the Chairman to be carried."

Notwithstanding all this, the end of the statue was not yet. It was removed to one of the wharves belonging to the Vestry ; but subsequently (as I am informed by Mr. Higgins) a member of the Vestry, a Mr. Williams, living in Beaufort Street, asked permission to have the statue. It was given to him, and he placed it in his front garden, where it stood for some time. We next find it in the possession, for some years, of Messrs. T. Crowther & Sons, of 382, North End Road, Walham Green, S.W., dealers in antiques in marble, stone, &c. where it stood in the front of their premises. Ultimately it was sold to the Duke of Marl- borough, and sent into the country whether to Blenheim or not my informant could not say for certain, but he thought that destination the most likely. I have written to the Duke of Marlborough upon the subject, but a reply has not yet come to hand. W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY.

Westminster.

Mention of the granite obelisk in Ken- sington Gardens to Capt. Speke (ante, p. 371) may be followed by a reference to the only other public memorial to this celebrated explorer.

Speke died in September, 1864, aged thirty- eight, and unmarried, from the effects of a gun accident. While visiting his uncle, Mr. Fuller, of Neston Park, in the parish of Wadswick, near Box, Wilts, he went out partridge-shooting one morning. After about two hours' sport, he was getting over a low stone wall, when by some mischance his gun exploded, while its muzzle was pointed at his chest. He died in a quarter of an hour. The exact site of this lament- able event is marked by a stone let into the middle of the wall, and surrounded by an iron railing. A right of way crosses the fields at this point, but it is little used. This cenotaph is in a most neglected con-