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TheVirginia Quay Settlers Monument is a public monument inBlackwall, London, to the first settlers of theColony of Virginia who departed from here in 1606.[1][2] The monument has its origins in a plaque erected on the Brunswick Dock master's house in 1928. The house was badly damaged by bombing during theSecond World War and in 1951 the plaque was incorporated into a monument erected during development of the site into theBrunswick Wharf Power Station. The monument was designed by Harold Brown and consisted of rough-hewn granite blocks from the walls of theWest India Docks surmounted by a bronze sculpture of a mermaid. The mermaid was later stolen. The monument was refurbished byBarratt Homes during redevelopment in 1999. A polished granite plinth was added and the mermaid replaced by amariner's astrolabe sculpted byWendy Taylor. The monument is currently located on the riverside facing theMillennium Dome.
Virginia Quay was originally known as Blackwall, a small and isolated settlement in marshy surroundings. A causeway led to the Blackwall Stairs, a slipway and staircase providing access to the river. It was used as a departure point for several explorers includingMartin Frobisher for his second expedition to thenorth-west passage and associated with shipbuilding in the area.[3] The site was the location for the departure of the expedition that founded the Colony of Virginia in the modern-day United States.[4] The expedition's three vessels, theSusan Constant,Discovery and theGodspeed left from this point on 19 December 1606. The expedition went on to foundJamestown, thefirst permanent English settlement in the Americas.[5]
Blackwall became the site of theBrunswick (East India Export) Dock in 1806.[5] In 1928 a bronze plaque was erected on thedock master's house (Brunswick House, located around 100 yards (91 m) west of the current location of the monument) by an organisation named byHistoric England as both the Society for the Protection of West Virginia Artefacts and theAssociation for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.[4] The plaque recorded the departure from this site of "105 adventurers". It names the captains of the ships (Christopher Newport,Bartholomew Gosnold andJohn Ratcliffe) and mentions the founding of Jamestown in April 1607 by CaptainJohn Smith,Edward Maria Wingfield andRobert Hunt. It also noted that Jamestown was the site, on 30 July 1619, of the first democratic assembly held in America (theHouse of Burgesses).[4]
Brunswick House was damaged by German bombing during theSecond World War and was later demolished. The plaque was saved and in 1951 added to a monument which was donated by thePort of London Authority.[4] During this time the East India Export Dock was being backfilled to provide land for theBrunswick Wharf Power Station. The monument was designed by Harold Brown and consisted of a pile of rough granite blocks "hewn from the old quay wall of the historicWest India Docks". It was topped by a bronze statue of a mermaid sat in a shell. The granite was meant to represent the resilience of the first settlers and the mermaid represented the "call of the sea".[6] The monument was unveiled by the United States ambassador to BritainWalter Sherman Gifford. The mermaid was later stolen; it was recovered from auction around 2007 but not reinstated.[4]
The power station was demolished in 1988–89 and the site was later developed byBarratt Homes.[3] In 1999 Barratt resited the monument onto a paved terrace on the riverbank, opposite theMillennium Dome.[5][4] The missing mermaid was replaced by a bronze sculpture of amariner's astrolabe, a navigation instrument the expedition would have used, designed byWendy Taylor.[4] Barratt also added a polished granite plinth with an inscription noting the work done and the relocation of the monument.[4] The renovated monument was unveiled by the US ambassador to BritainPhilip Lader in a ceremony supported by theJamestowne Society and featuring a marchpast by pike and musket re-enactors.[5][4] The site originally had three flagpoles which were used to fly twoflags of the United States and theUnion Flag; it now has four flagpoles which fly one of each of the flags plus theflag of England and theflag of Virginia.[5]
Barratt themed their development around the association with Virginia. The streets were named after Jamestown, Newport and thePilgrims. Later housing developments by theBallymore Group at nearbyNew Providence Wharf also use Virginia-themed names.[5]
The monument was granted statutory protection as agrade II listed building by Historic England on 9 March 2017. The organisation considers that as well as its own significance the monument has value in association with the statue ofPocahontas further downriver atGravesend, Kent, (Pocahontas has been closely associated with Smith). Other nearby listed structures are also mentioned in the listing, including the Blackwall Engineering Dry Dock and the Blackwall Pier and entrance lock (belonging to the former East India Dock basin).[4]
Media related toVirginia Quay Settlers Monument at Wikimedia Commons51°30′29″N0°00′01″E / 51.50792°N 0.00036°E /51.50792; 0.00036
