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| Equestrian statue of Charles II trampling Cromwell | |
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| Type | Equestrian statue |
| Medium | Carrara marble |
| Subject | Charles II of England |
| Location | Newby Hall, North Yorkshire, England |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Equestrian statue approximately 150 metres east of Newby Hall |
| Designated | 6 March 1967 |
| Reference no. | 1289184 |
Anequestrian statue of Charles II trampling Cromwell stands nearNewby Hall in North Yorkshire, England. It was previously sited atGautby Hall in Lincolnshire, and was originally installed at theStocks Market in theCity of London. It is a Grade IIlisted building.
The 17th-century statue is made ofCarrara marble. It shows a man with the features of KingCharles II in armour and riding a horse, which is walking over and trampling a figure lying on the ground representingOliver Cromwell. The rider holds bronze reins in his left hand and a staff in his right hand. The sculpture stands on a tall plinth of stone ashlars, with moulded base and cornice, and rounded ends.
The original sculpture was made in Italy, but the sculptor is not known. It portrayed the Polish commanderJohn III Sobieski riding down a Turkish soldier (said by some sources to commemorate his victory at theBattle of Vienna in 1683, although it pre-dates the battle by at least a decade). A similar sculpture was made byFranciszek Pinck to a design byAndré-Jean Lebrun and erected in 1788 as part of theJohn III Sobieski Monument (Śródmieście, Warsaw) inŁazienki Park in Warsaw, which was based onBernini'sequestrian statue of Louis XIV and a sculpture ofc. 1693 inWilanów Palace, also in Warsaw, perhaps inspired by the 1686 portrait of Sobieski byJerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter.[1]
The sculpture may have been made for the King of Poland or the Polish ambassador in London, but it was bought inc. 1672 by the London goldsmith and bankerSir Robert Vyner, 1st Baronet, who was a strong supporter of Charles II, and who had made Charles's newcoronation regalia to replace items sold or destroyed before or under theCommonwealth. Vyner had the head of the rider remodelled byJasper Latham to resemble Charles. The figure interpreted as "Cromwell" retains a distinctly Turkish appearance, including a turban.[1]
Vyner had offered in 1668 to donate a statue of Charles for theRoyal Exchange when it was rebuilt after theGreat Fire of London, but this offer was rejected. Vyner served asLord Mayor of London in 1674–75, and he presented the statue to the parish ofSt Stephen Walbrook and had the statue installed in 1675 in theStocks Market. This was the location of the last fixedstocks in theCity of London, nearCornhill, above the outlet of a conduit fed by a lead pipe fromTyburn.
In a satirical poem,Andrew Marvell wondered whether the statue was deliberate revenge for the losses Vyner had suffered with theStop of the Exchequer,[2]
When each one that passes finds fault with the horse.
Yet all do affirme that the King is much worse
In another poem Marvell imagined the horse in discussion with the horse from theequestrian statue of Charles I, re-erected later the same year atCharing Cross, the two horses together comparing their riders and berating the state of the nation.[3]
The statue was removed in 1739 to permit the construction of theMansion House on the site of the Stocks Market, and was given back to Vyner's grandnephew, also Robert Viner. Some years later, the statue was erected at the Vyner family estate atGautby Hall. Lady Mary Robinson, daughter ofThomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, married Henry Vyner, and after she had inheritedNewby Hall in 1859 the statue was relocated there in 1883, where it remains. It received a Grade IIlisting in 1967.
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Media related toEquestrian statue of Charles II of England trampling Cromwell at Wikimedia Commons54°06′06″N1°28′01″W / 54.10156°N 1.46691°W /54.10156; -1.46691