Statue of William Shakespeare

A marble statue of William Shakespeare stands at the heart of Leicester Square Gardens in the City of Westminster. The figure was carved by Giovanni Fontana after an original by Peter Scheemakers, and has been in place since 1874. It sits on a pedestal surrounded by a fountain, with dolphins carved at each corner. The statue was commissioned by financier Albert Grant, who bought the square and had the gardens redesigned by James Knowles. A scroll in Shakespeare’s hand carries a line from Twelfth Night: ‘There is no darkness but ignorance.’ The inscription on the pedestal records how Grant presented the garden to the public in 1874. The statue is a copy of Scheemakers’s monument in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, but omits three portrait reliefs of Henry V, Richard III and Elizabeth I. Its inscription differs too, quoting Shakespeare rather than The Tempest. The Leicester Square monument is listed at Grade II and was restored in 2012 by Tom Brown of London Stone Carving Limited. New water features were added in 2014 as part of the work. The Grade II listing recognises the statue’s historic and artistic importance. Visitors find a quiet central space framed by the statue and the fountain. The gardens around it are open to the public every day. The marble figure rises above the water jets, its scroll clearly legible. Dolphin sculptures support the pedestal, adding detail to the basin below. The inscription on the pedestal tells the story of Albert Grant’s gift to the city. The restored stone and new water features give the place a fresh appearance while keeping its Victorian character.