Edinburgh's King Charles statue gets £57,000 spruce-up

THE oldest equestrian lead statue in the UK, which depicts King Charles II on horseback, has been removed from its prime spot in Edinburgh's city centre for restoration.

The 1685 statue is Edinburgh's ancient and most prestigious, and depicts the monarch, who was restored to the crown in 1660 after the death of Oliver Cromwell, as a Roman emperor. It is thought possible that it is the work of the Dutch sculptor, Grinling Gibbons.

The monument was removed from Parliament Square yesterday for only the third time in its 325-year history, and will undergo 57,000 worth of specialist conservation treatment.

The move is the latest development in the 1m on-going Twelve Monuments Restoration Project, a joint initiative by the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh World Heritage.

The statue has an internal framework of oak and mild steel. Over time this has deteriorated, putting stress on the statue and causing cracks in the lead.

After a painstaking process to remove it safely from its plinth, it was due to be transported to the London firm of specialist monument conservationists, Hall Conservation.

There it will be carefully taken apart and rebuilt, supported by a new internal stainless steel frame. The lead will be cleaned and missing parts such as the sword and scabbard replaced, modelled on a similar statue at Windsor Castle.

Adam Wilkinson, director of Edinburgh World Heritage, said: "The statue of Charles II is utterly beguiling, far from the pomposity of his father's statue in Trafalgar Square in London. This is the monarch of a different kind of a nation, following the trauma and upheaval of the commonwealth, seeking calm authority.

"Statuary is one of the aspects of the World Heritage Site that is easily forgotten, yet which plays an important part in creating the drama of some of our public spaces, in this case Parliament Square behind St Giles."

The work, expected to take six months, is being funded with 18,000 from Edinburgh council, along with donations from the Scottish Court Service, the High Constables of Edinburgh, the Faculty of Advocates and many private donors.

The statue was originally erected by Edinburgh's Lord Provost in Parliament Close on 16 April, 1685 at a cost to the Scottish taxpayer of 2,584.

It left its site in 1824 "in a state of decay" and spent 11 years in Calton Jail. It was placed on a new plinth in 1835 after 30 worth of repairs.

It was removed again for repairs in 1949. Then it was stored at Russell Road yard for two years before being sent to Lambeth Foundry, London. It was returned to Parliament Square in February 1952.