The Statue of William III, Bristol, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

The Statue of William III is an equestrian monument at the centre of Queen Square in Bristol, made by the sculptor John Michael Rysbrack and put up in 1736. It shows the king on horseback in Roman dress and stands in one of the city's grandest Georgian squares, close to the harbour.

The story behind it

Queen Square was laid out from about 1699 and became a fashionable address for Bristol's merchants and shipowners. Many of the city's fortunes were made through trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, and the square is part of that wider story. William III, who ruled from 1689 to 1702, was a natural choice for a monument in a prosperous port that valued the settlement that followed his arrival. The statue was designed by Rysbrack, one of the leading sculptors working in Britain at the time.

The square also has a darker chapter. During the Bristol riots of 1831, which followed the rejection of parliamentary reform, crowds set fire to buildings around Queen Square, and large parts of its sides were destroyed. The statue stood through it all and is still the focal point of the square.

What to look for

• Look at the king's costume: he is dressed as a Roman general rather than in the clothes of his own day, a common way to flatter rulers in eighteenth century monuments.
• Walk around the horse and rider to see how the sculptor handles the movement of the animal from each side.
• Notice the paths crossing the square, which are laid out in a pattern said to echo the Union flag, with the statue at the heart of it.
• Look at the terraces of brick townhouses around the square, some rebuilt after the 1831 fires, and imagine the merchants who once lived behind them.

Tips for your visit

• The statue stands in an open public square, so you can see it at any time without a ticket. Allow ten to fifteen minutes to look around, longer if you want to sit under the trees.
• Morning or late afternoon light is kind to the stonework and the surrounding brick, and the square is usually quieter outside the lunch hour.
• The Harbourside is a short walk away, so it is easy to combine the square with a stroll along the water.
• There is nothing to go inside, as this is an outdoor monument, but several nearby buildings and museums have their own opening hours, so check current opening hours before planning a visit.

See it on a quest

You can reach the statue on foot as one stop on Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Bristol, a self-guided murder mystery through the city. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look closely at the square instead of just passing through. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no set departure time.