The famous statue of Charles II in Parliament Square, Edinburgh, was taken away for specialist conservation yesterday (Sunday 24 October 2010).
It is the oldest equestrian lead statue in the UK, dating back to 1685, and is possibly the work of the Dutch sculptor Grinling Gibbons.
The work is the latest installment of the on-going Twelve Monuments Restoration Project, a joint initiative by the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh World Heritage.
The imposing monument is made of lead and has an internal framework, made from oak and mild steel. Over time this has deteriorated, putting stress on the statue and causing cracks in the lead.
Councillor Ron Cairns, Vice Convenor of the Culture and Leisure Committee, said: “This majestic statue is the oldest in Edinburgh, occupying a prime position in Parliament Square at the heart of the Old Town. By restoring it to its former glory, we will be preserving a significant Edinburgh landmark for future generations.”
Adam Wilkinson, Director of Edinburgh World Heritage said: “The statue of Charles II is utterly beguiling, far from the pomposity of his father’s statue in Trafalgar Square in London. This is the monarch of a different kind of a nation, following the trauma and upheaval of the Commonwealth, seeking calm authority. Statuary is one of the aspects of the World Heritage Site that is easily forgotten, yet which plays an important part in creating the drama of some of our public spaces, in this case Parliament Square behind St Giles. We are delighted to be supporting the repair of this important statue, which is the first in a long line of important public monuments in Edinburgh and the story it has to tell.”
After a painstaking process to remove it safely from its plinth, the Charles II statue was due to be transported to the Rochester studio of Hall Conservation Ltd for specialist conservation work. There it will be carefully taken apart and rebuilt, supported by a new internal stainless steel frame. The lead will be cleaned and missing parts such as the sword and scabbard replaced, modelled on a similar statue at Windsor Castle.
The work is being funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh World Heritage, along with donations from the Scottish Court Service, the High Constables of Edinburgh and many private donors.
The conservation work is expected to take six months, with the statue returned to its former glory in spring 2011.
Adam Wilkinson, Director of Edinburgh World Heritage said: “The statue of Charles II is utterly beguiling, far from the pomposity of his father’s statue in Trafalgar Square in London. This is the monarch of a different kind of a nation, following the trauma and upheaval of the Commonwealth, seeking calm authority.
Um, well, the statue was commissioned by Edinburgh’s City Council in 1684. Three years earlier, Charles II had got the Scottish Parliament to pass the Test Act, under which anyone seeking office in Scotland was required to swear a comprehensive oath to the King. (The English Parliament had refused to pass such an Act and went into involuntary recess for several years as a result.) Every member of the City Council must have signed the oath of loyalty to Charles – and yet in 1684 the Scottish Parliament was told to pass the Abjuration Oath, and all Scots were required to swear to it on pain of death. Far from “calm authority”, it was in this atmosphere of political suspicion and death (many Scots refused the oath and were executed) that Council of Edinburgh commissioned this statue.
Ron Cairns is right, it’s “a significant Edinburgh landmark” that future generations would do well to learn from: a month after the Council had unveiled this bootlicking memorial, Charles II was dead, and his successor, James VII of Scotland/James II of England, rolled back the policy of oaths and executions: the last execution for refusing the Oath of Abjuration took place on 13th May 1685. The lesson to the Council ought to be: don’t pour your money into the support of temporary tyrants.
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