Statue of Queen Anne, Minehead
{{Short description|Statue in Minehead, Somerset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Statue of Queen Anne
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| image = Queen Anne Statue in the Evening Light (geograph 4673067).jpg
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| type =
| locmapin = Somerset
| coordinates = {{coord|51.2053|-3.479|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location = Minehead, Somerset, England
| area =
| built = 1719
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| governing_body =
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| designation1 = Grade II* listed building
| designation1_offname = Statue of Queen Anne
| designation1_date = 4 July 1952
| designation1_number = 1207015
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The Statue of Queen Anne in Minehead, Somerset, England was built in 1719. It is a Grade II* listed building.{{NHLE|desc=Statue of Queen Anne|num=1207015|accessdate=8 October 2017}}
History
The statue depicts Queen Anne in full court dress. It was designed by Francis Bird, who had previously made a sculpture of the queen for St Paul's Cathedral,{{cite journal|last1=Van Hensbergen|first1=Claudine|title=Carving a Legacy: Public Sculpture of Queen Anne, c.1704–1712|journal=Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies|volume=37|issue=2|pages=229–244|doi=10.1111/1754-0208.12154|year=2014|url=http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/16699/1/CVH%20-%20JECS%20Feb%202014%20final%20draft%20-%20upload%20this%20version%20-%20Anne%20%20sculpture%20article%20docx.pdf}} after a commission by Sir Jacob Bancks the local member of parliament for Minehead.{{cite book|last=Byford|first=Enid|title=Somerset Curiosities|year=1987|publisher=Dovecote Press|isbn=978-0946159482|page=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcuriosit0000byfo/page/45 45]|url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcuriosit0000byfo/page/45}} Statues of the queen were a "fashionable ornament" during her reign.{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Nicola|title=Revival: The Royal Image and the English People (2001)|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351766074|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSIuDwAAQBAJ&q=Public+Monument+Queen+Anne+Minehead&pg=PT166}}
It was removed from its original site in St Michael's Church during restoration work in 1880. It was to have been placed in the town hall, but following a public subscription for the canopy it was re-erected at its current site in 1893.{{NHLE |num=1207015 |desc=Statue of Queen Anne |accessdate=2 May 2010}}{{cite web|title=Queen Anne|url=https://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=68121&sos=0|website=Vads|publisher=Public Monuments and Sculpture Association|accessdate=8 October 2017}}
Architecture
The statue is made of alabaster. The pedestal and canopy which were added by H. Dare Bryan in 1893 are of Carrara marble. Above the statue is a dentilled pediment and cornice
References
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{{Portal|Visual arts}}
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset
Category:Grade II* listed monuments and memorials
Category:Monuments and memorials in Somerset
Category:Monuments and memorials to Anne, Queen of Great Britain