Kings Statue

This is a Grade I listed monument to George III, erected in 1809-10 on the Esplanade in Weymouth. Designed by architect James Hamilton, it commemorates the King’s 50th year in reign. The monument consists of figures and details in Coade stone, reportedly made by Mr Sealy of the firm Coade and Sealy, standing on a substantial Portland stone pedestal. The King is depicted in Garter robes, holding a sceptre and accompanied by various royal insignia, including a crown, Royal Standard, Union flag, a pile of books, and a shield of arms, all brightly coloured. The figures rest on a cavetto base with roll moulding, atop a rectangular pedestal with moulded capping and base, set on a plinth of two steps. Further low pedestals, not bonded to the main stonework, flank the King, displaying a gilded lion to his right and a unicorn to his left.

The front of the pedestal, facing north along the Esplanade, features a large inscription reading “The grateful Inhabitants/ To GEORGE THE THIRD/ On his entering the 50th/ Year/ Of His REIGN”, with “J.HAMILTON ARCHT” inscribed below. A longer inscription on the back of the pedestal, now worn and partially illegible, has been transcribed onto a smaller Portland stone tablet at the front. The inscription details a meeting in 1809, where resolutions were passed including a congratulatory address, and a decision to raise funds not for public dinners or illuminations, but to benefit the town’s poorer residents and prisoners of war. It also notes that several named individuals offered to present the statue, with a separate subscription raised for its erection. The lettering on the inscriptions is incised and painted black.

The monument’s prominent location now incorporates it into a traffic island. Historical records reveal that it has not always been favorably regarded; a report in The Southern Times in 1886 described it as a "hideous monstrosity," prompting suggestions for its removal.