Statue of William III 30m north of the Archer Pavilion is a Grade II* listed building in the Central Bedfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 January 1985. Monument.
Statue of William III 30m north of the Archer Pavilion
- WRENN ID
- worn-tin-vetch
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire MP: Blake Stephenson (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 10 January 1985
- Type
- Monument
- Address
- Statue of William III 30m north of the Archer Pavilion, Wrest Park, Silsoe
- OS grid reference
- TL 091 347
- Coordinates
- 52.00077, -0.41099
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Statue of William III, located 30 meters north of the Archer Pavilion, is a notable Grade II* listed monument. The figure is made of lead and stands on a pedestal constructed from Ketton stone, featuring a Portland stone plinth.
The pedestal has four projecting faces with panel forms. At the base, there is a fascia topped with a small torus, a cymatium, and a cavetto moulding. The die of the pedestal includes four projecting panels, three of which have been rebated with an oblong panel on the face. The fourth panel features an inset white Italian marble section, which bears the inscription: "KING WILLIAM/ the 3/of GLORIOUS/ and/ Immortell Memory."
Above the panels is an astragal mould with a plain band or fascia. The entire structure is topped with a cap made from six pieces of stone, which is moulded at the edge with a drip and ogee mould beneath. The cap is further topped by a Portland stone plinth that supports the statue, designed to match the pedestal's projection but with a moulded extension at the rear and left side to accommodate the flow of the statue's cloak. The pedestal itself rests on a concrete foundation.
The statue depicts William III in a heroic pose, with his head raised and looking to his left. His right leg is forward, his left hand rests on his hip, and he holds a baton in his right hand. He is attired in the garments of a Roman Emperor, wearing a tunic overlaid with armor. The breastplate features a diamond pattern, and at the bottom, there is a prominent relief of a shell. The apron straps are adorned with alternating reliefs of a raised thistle and a raised rose, symbolizing Scotland and England, respectively. A cloak drapes over William's shoulder, secured with a brooch on his right side. The folds of the cloak spread over his left upper arm and cascade down his back, with part of it held in his left hand while the rest trails behind him. He wears a laurel wreath on his head, symbolizing victory and commemorating his military achievements.
Local climate
Statue of William III 30m north of the Archer Pavilion sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 87% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 83% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 53% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
Sign in or create a free account to unlock:
- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Archer Pavilion
- Statue of Apollo 40m south of West Half House
- Statue of Hercules in the south-east of Wrest Park
- Monument to Thomas Hutton 155m west of the Archer Pavilion
- Statue of Lady Jemima, 27m South of the West Half House
- West Half House
- East Half House
- Statue of Mercury and Cupid on East Side of Long Canal, 70m from North End
- Statue at West End of Ladies Lake
- Monument to Capability Brown to west of Broad Water