 | Art Treasure of London: Henry VIII, England's most colourful sovereign, was born in the royal palace at Greenwich in 1491. In fifty-six years he had more homes than any other king. Three - St James's Palace, Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle-are still in use. His only memorial in London is this statue in a niche above the gateway of the city's oldest charitable institution, St Bartholomew's Hospital. In view of the role he played in the Reformation, this religious site may seem odd. But although the adjacent Augustinian priory was dissolved, the hospital managed to struggle on, and in 1546, at the request of Sir Richard Gresham, a wealthy City merchant, it was refounded and endowed by the King. The stone statue, commissioned in 1702, is thought to be the work of the sculptor Francis Bird. |
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