T “St. George for the tomb of H. R. H. the Duke of Clarence” by Sir Alfred Gilbert

St. George (statuette)

Sir Alfred Gilbert, R. A. (1854-1934)

1892

Aluminium and ivory

St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham

This church is on the edge of the Sandringham estate, acquired” by the future Edward VII in 1862. After its late Victorian alterations” by Sir Arthur Blomfield, its interior was greatly enriched. But, striking as it is, this statuette is primarily a memorial, rather than an enrichment. To the shock of his family, and of the public as a whole, the twenty-eight-year-old Duke of Clarence had died at Sandringham House early that year, following a bout of influenza. Gilbert fashioned a bronze St George as part of the symbolic ornamentation of his elaborate tomb in the Albert Memorial Chapel of St George's, Windsor. This version of the St George figure was given to the church in his memory, by the Royal Household (see Ashton 13).

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.

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