Background
The Commonwealth of Virginia in 1914 gave a bronze replica of the famous Jean-Antonine Statue of George Washington which has stood in the Capitol rotunda in Richmond, Virginia from 1796 to today.
Great Britain chose a very prominent location in front of the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London’s central square, as the home for the Washington Statue. The Washington Statue was unveiled in 1921 after World War I, celebrating what was later called the “Special Relationship” between the US and UK.
FWS is raising funds to restore the famous Washington Statue, to provide a new high-quality pedestal, and to work with government officials in the US/VA and UK to rededicate the Washington Statue in Trafalgar Square in the summer of 2025. This Project might also be conveyed, similar to the Washington Statue, as a gift on behalf of Virginia.
The Opportunity
The historic Washington Statue needs restoration and repair. Its current pedestal is difficult to maintain and has become heavily worn in the last 100+ years. The inscription has consequently become difficult to read and could be brought up to-date to convey the context of the “Special Relationship” more clearly as the inspiration for Virginia’s gift in 1914/1921.
FWS‘s proposed Project summarized below will be a fitting and gracious lead up to the 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026.
The inscription on the new pedestal could be improved to reference:
- The inspiration behind Virginia’s gift which was later called by Winston Churchill in 1946 the “Special Relationship;”
- The “Common Inheritance” of ideals and principles shared by the US and UK, including individual rights and love of liberty which led to the Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus, Trial by Jury, English Common Law and ultimately to the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution; and
- The “Common Sacrifice” of blood and treasure in defense of those ideals and principles which are some of the most profound manifestations of our “Special Relationship” in the last 100+ years since Virginia’s offer of the Washington Statue in 1914, i.e., the eight major wars during that time in which the US and UK have fought together “side-by-side” as allies defending those principles and ideals – a noble measure of our enduring relationship.
The Restoration
FWS is raising funds for the needed restoration and repair of the historic Washington Statue to prepare it for the next 100+ years in Trafalgar Square. The Washington Statue is a historic Listed Grade II National Landmark in England.
FWS is working with English Heritage (aka English Heritage Trust), a Registered Charity in England, that is responsible for the maintenance of the Washington Statue among 400 other historic sites and monuments in England.
The New Pedestal
FWS is raising funds for a new high-quality pedestal for the famous Washington Statue. A new pedestal will be made of a stone more durable than the Portland stone used in the original to better withstand the elements over time. FWS is working with the appropriate UK authorities for its design and new inscription.
Because of the significance of the work, FWS is working with Baron Foster of Thames Bank, one of England’s leading architects, to design the new pedestal and to lead the design approval process in the UK.
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM, RA,
HonFREng, is a leading, award-winning architect and designer in England who completed, among many other important major works, a new master plan for Trafalgar Square in 2003, transforming it from what had effectively become a “traffic island” into one of London’s most significant public spaces.
There is welcome historical precedence for such a design commission. The magnificent pedestal beneath the famous bronze Hubert Le Sueur statue of King Charles I (1633) at the southern, Charing Cross end of Trafalgar Square was designed in 1675 by one of England’s leading architects of the time, Sir Christopher Wren, when that statue was brought to its current location having been secretly buried in the ground for safe keeping during the decade following the English Civil Wars (1642-51).
The Rededication
FWS expects to complete the restoration and provide the new pedestal so the historic Washington Statue can be rededicated in Trafalgar Square in the summer of 2025 – likely near the 104th anniversary of its original unveiling on June 30, 1921. We will also celebrate the “Special Relationship,” making these new gifts a fitting and gracious lead up to the 250th Anniversary of American Independence in 2026.
