Statue of George II, Golden Square

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Statue of George II in Golden Square, Soho, London. Made from Portland stone, it stands at the centre of the square’s small garden and shows a man in Roman clothing. It is commonly identified as George II, though there is little solid evidence for this. The statue is Grade II listed, designated on 14 January 1970 (entry number 1289197).

The statue’s exact origin is uncertain; some say it came from Cannons for the Duke of Chandos. It was erected in Golden Square around 1753. Local stories say it was given to the square after a high bid at auction. It weathered and was damaged during the Second World War and was restored in 1988. If it once stood in a country-house setting, it may have been an ornamental statue for a fountain.

In Charles Dickens’s Nicholas Nickleby, it is described as a “mournful statue—the guardian genius of a little wilderness of shrubs.”