A Statue of Henry III from Westminster Abbey

AbstractIt is generally assumed that no medieval figure sculpture has survived from the north front of the nave of Westminster Abbey after three and a half centuries of successive restorations. This assumption was challenged by the appearance at auction in 2007 of a life-sized statue of Henry iii bearing some of the stylistic hallmarks of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The statue, according to its vendor, was acquired from the masons’ yard at Westminster Abbey in 1980, during the most recent major restoration of the north front carried out by Peter Foster, Surveyor of the Fabric until 1988. It was removed from the site with the consent of the contractors. Until the auction, it had been chained to a wall in the vendor's garden. The art dealer who bought the figure identified it as Henry iii from its close resemblance to the thirteenth-century tomb effigy of the king in Westminster Abbey. He purchased the statue in anticipation of it proving to be of a similar date. The purpose of this paper is to review the documented history of the figure sculpture on the north front of the abbey's nave and find a place for this statue within it.