King's Statue

[1][2] Weymouth was much enjoyed by the King George III who would often take holidays there – a total of fourteen separate occasions, the first in 1789.

George III was originally advised to travel to Weymouth to consolidate his recovery from his first bout of serious physical and mental illness, sometimes now interpreted as porphyria.

At first, the statue was delivered to Weymouth and assembled by the supplier four years before it was erected in its present position.

When the statue's location became a traffic island in the late 1950s, its role as a central gathering place was lost.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, had awarded the contract for the monument's restoration to Osirion Building & Conservation Ltd.[4] It was renovated by stripping 20 layers of paintwork, replacing it with new paints and gold leaf, and replacing the iron framework with a stainless steel one.

He is backed by various items, including the crown on a cushion, the Royal standard and Union flag, a pile of books and a large oval shield of arms.