| Blind Beggar and his Dog | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Artist | Elisabeth Frink |
| Completion date | 1958 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Subject | The Blind Beggar |
| Dimensions | 2.4 m (8 ft) |
| Location | Cranbrook Estate,Bethnal Green, London |
| Coordinates | 51°31′47″N0°02′42″W / 51.5298°N 0.0449°W /51.5298; -0.0449 |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Blind Beggar and his dog, Cranbrook Estate |
| Designated | 15 April 1998 |
| Reference no. | 1031598 |
Blind Beggar and his Dog is abronze statue of 1958, by the sculptorElisabeth Frink, based on the famous balladThe Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green. It stands in the enclosed garden of Tate House, a residential development for the elderly on theCranbrook Estate in the London district ofBethnal Green. It is aGrade II* listed structure.
The legend of the blind beggar became popular inTudor times and has many variants.[1] One version tells of an English knight, Simon de Montford, who is blinded at theBattle of Evesham in 1265. Seeking to conceal his identity, he begsalms at Bethnal Green, while his beautiful daughter Besse is wooed by four suitors, three of whom are discouraged by her father's seeming inability to provide a dowry. The fourth recognises Besse's innate nobility and marries her anyway, whereupon he receives a dowry from her still-wealthy father.[2] Bethnal Green's civiccoat of arms bears the images of Besse and her blind father and the legend is commemorated in many place names in the area, including that ofThe Blind Beggar public house onWhitechapel Road.[3]
Post-war reconstruction of Bethnal Green, which had suffered severely inthe Blitz was led by the architectural team ofSkinner Bailey & Lubetkin, the successor toBerthold Lubetkin'sTecton Group. The Cranbrook estate was the last and the largest of the three housing estates they designed.[4] The sculpture of the Blind Beggar was commissioned by Bethnal Green Council in 1957, and was awarded to the then 27 year-old sculptorElisabeth Frink.[4] It was first sited on Roman Road, from where it can still be seen, but was moved to its intended location in Tate Garden in 1963.[5]
The statue is in bronze, and is 8 feet high.[5] It stands on an "elevated fountain (plinth) of overlapping stone sections".[4]Pevsner describes the statue as "appealingly vulnerable and serious".[4] It was given aGrade II* heritage listing in 1998.[5]
Media related toBlind Beggar and His Dog at Wikimedia Commons
