Six marble statues in niches in the façades facing High Street and West Stockwell Street of Colchester's Town Hall. The statues depict personages connected with Colchester. From left to right:
High Street
EUDO - Eudo, son of Hubert de Ria, or Eudo Dapifer, seneschal of King William II (William Rufus) in 1096. He founded Colchester Abbey in 1096.
He is shown as a warrior with his sword being placed point downwards so the hilt forms a cross, thus putting away of warlike things to turn to religious ones.
AUDLEY - Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden (Earns Colne, Essex, ca. 1488 - Saffron Walden 1544), barrister, town clerk of Colchester, and was a Justice of the Peace for Essex in 1521, Lord Chancellor of England from 1533 to 1544. (Wikipedia).
GILBERD - William Gilbert (Colchester 1544 - London 1603), English physician, physicist and natural philosopher, remembered today largely for his book De Magnete (1600), and is credited as one of the originators of the term 'electricity' (Wikipedia).
He is depicted with one hand resting on a ball on a pillar, presumably his device for collecting static electricity, and having a book in his other hand.
HARSNETT - Samuel Harsnett (or Harsnet) (Colchester 1561 - Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire 1631), born Samuel Halsnoth, English writer on religion and Archbishop of York from 1629 (Wikipedia).
West Stockwell Street
BOADICEA - Boudica (also Boudicca or Boadicea) (d. AD 60 or 61),
Queen of the British Iceni tribe, a Celtic tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire (Wikipedia).. Depicted as a Valkyrie-like figure, pointing with one hand, long bronze spear in the other. She burned Colchester.
EDWARD THE ELDER - Edward the Elder (Old English Eadweard cyning; Wantage, Berkshire, c. 874-877 - Farndon-on-Dee, Cheshire, 924), English king, became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great (Wikipedia).
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Annotation
Built in 1898-1902 after designs of the architect John Belcher.
Artist
Thomas Rudge (Cheltenham 1868 - 1942),
English sculptor
(Biography).
