Norman Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt was Royal Governor of Virginia from 1768-1770. He was very respected by the colonist and, upon his death in October of 1770, after a spectacular funeral service, he was interred below the chapel in the Wren Building on the campus of the College of William and Mary. He was very supportive of the college during his tenure in Virginia. He was so well liked that his obituary described him as "the best of Governours and the best of men."
In 1771, the General Assembly allocated funds for a statue of him to be erected. It stood, first at the Capitol, was moved to this area in front of the Wren Building, and now is in the rotunda of the Swem Library at the college. This replica of the original marble statue was the gift of alumni for the college's 300th anniversary in 1993.
5 comments:
Very interesting. So this is a replica? Why was the origional moved around so much, couldn't people decide on a permanent place?
A beautiful statue.
Costas
Beautifully documented. Please have a beautiful weekend too.
What a grand, noble statue! I love the colors and the feel of the photo! Nice to catch up on your blog this morning!
@ Ginny: The statue outdoors in front of the Wren Building is indeed a replica. The original is in the Swem Library. The original statue was moved at various times to protect it, including from wars and vandalism by rival universities' fans. More information is available at: http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Lord_Botetourt. You may especially find this video on YouTube about the two statues interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vuyIagSgv4.
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