William III, Prince of Orange, ascended the English throne in 1688 following the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution.

[3] In the 18th century, it became fairly common for members of the Whig Ascendancy to assert their support for the Protestant Succession, and by implication their opposition to the Jacobite challenge, by commemorating William.

[1] The front of the plinth carries an original Latin inscription, which is translated in a modern dedicatory plaque attached to the side.

Historic England's listing record does not ascribe a name to the sculptor but most sources follow Pevsner.

Michael Bullen, James Crook and Rodney Hubbuck, in their Hampshire: Winchester and the North volume in the Buildings of England series, revised and published in 2010, confidently attribute it to John Cheere, although they suggest that the original design may have been by his elder brother, Henry.