Michael Rysbrack's brass statue
of William III stands at the heart of Queen Square,
a green haven
not far from Bristol's busy City Centre. The square was named in honour
of Queen Anne
who visited Bristol in 1702. It was built on marshland reclaimed in 1699.
The North side and most of the West side of the
square were destroyed during the Reform
Riots in 1831, sparked by accusations from the
Recorder of Bristol that the city's citizens
were opposed to Parliamentary Reform. The Customs
House and Mansion House were
both burned down during the unrest. A new Customs
House was built in 1835-7. In 1936-7
the tranquility of the square was shattered when
a busy road was insensitively driven
right through the centre of it, though in 2000-1 the
road was removed and the square
restored to its former serenity. Rysbrack's statue
of William III was cast in 1733 and
erected in 1736 and is based on the third century statue
of the philospher emperor
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in Rome.