Chaucer statue unveiled in Canterbury
A
£200,000 bronze statue of Canterbury Tales author Geoffrey Chaucer will be
unveiled in the city today.
It is the
result of a 10-year campaign by the Canterbury Commemoration Society to
acknowledge Geoffrey Chaucer’s important association with the city.
The
life-sized figure, sculpted by Sam Holland, is being sited in the Three Cities
Garden in Best Lane.
The
sculpture will also feature the faces of city personalities around a plinth
representing characters from his greatest work, which tells the stories of
pilgrims travelling from London to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in
Canterbury Cathedral.
It
follows months of research with historians and costume experts to ensure the
period detail, including his accessories, are correct.
Sam’s
interpretation depicts Chaucer representing himself as one of the pilgrims in
The Canterbury Tales, part kindly old man and part all-seeing soothsayer.
The cost
has been met through fundraising, donations, grants and the £5,000 sponsorship of
each of the 29 characters’ faces, which include Canterbury-born actor Orlando
Bloom as the Young Squire.
