This is how the new statue of the Queen to be installed at the front of York Minster will look.
The designs of the statue were unveiled at the Minster’s Stoneyard today (Wednesday).
It has been created by stone mason Richard Bossons following a painstaking process, including several drawings, a maquette – or scale model – made from modelling clay, and a full size model of Her Majesty’s head.
The final statue, carved from Lepine stone, will be 7ft tall and weigh nearly two tons. It will take its place in a niche on the West Front of York Minster overlooking what is set to become renamed and remodelled Queen Elizabeth Square, where Duncombe Place is today.
The new statue will mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne in 1952 – and pays tribute to her long life of faithful service and duty to her country and to the Commonwealth.
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An expert architectural carver and stone mason, Richard has been a member of York Minster’s renowned Stoneyard team since 2011.
Richard’s design depicts the Queen in her garter robes with the orb and sceptre, the symbols of her office as head of church and state and wearing the George IV State Diadem.
Now the designs – which have been seen by Her Majesty – have been approved, he will start working on the real thing this autumn, aiming to finish next summer
‘Incredibly proud’
Richard said the project involved several design challenges: “First and foremost I have to complement the magnificent medieval façade of the Minster.
“The statue needs to be part of the fabric, not a distraction from it, yet it also has to have the poise and presence befitting of the Queen’s unique role as head of church and state.”
Dean of York, the Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Frost, said: “We are incredibly proud that the statue has been designed and will be carved by one of our own masons which is testament to the incredible craft skills we have here in our Stoneyard.
“We hope this statue will inspire the city and be a cause for celebration as we recover from the pandemic as well as setting a course to delivering our vision to create a new square at the West Front of York Minster.”
