HL Deb 18 December 1947 vol 153 cc353-4
LORD LLOYD

My Lords, I beg to ask the question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

[The question was as follows:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether in view of the representations of the Chelsea Borough Council, and the Chelsea Society, which have received such wide support, they will now reconsider their decision regarding the siting of the Grinling Gibbons Statue of James II.]

LORD HENDERSON

My right honourable friend the Minister of Works has considered the representations that have been made to him about the statue of James II. He feels that, as this is generally acknowledged to be one of the best of the London statues, it should be placed in a more central position than at Chelsea Hospital, and he has decided, as a temporary measure, to erect the statue on the National Gallery site. The matter will be reconsidered when the new Government Offices in Whitehall are completed and the adjoining gardens are laid out. When a more suitable site is found or becomes available he will consult the Royal Fine Art Commission again.

LORD LLOYD

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his reply but, arising out of that, I would like to ask whether he can give me an assurance that the Royal Hospital site has not been entirely eliminated from the considerations of His Majesty's Government by the statue being placed in a temporary site; and whether, before a permanent site is decided upon, there will be an opportunity for the Chelsea Borough Council, and the Chelsea Society, to raise the matter again, and to have their case considered by the Fine Art Commission and by His Majesty's Government.

LORD HENDERSON

As I have said, the permanent site has not yet been decided. It is quite permissible for the Chelsea authorities to approach the Royal Fine Art Commission and to make as strong representations as they wish about the site in Chelsea.

LORD DE LTSLE and DUDLEY

Although I have to confess to a certain partiality in this matter, may I urge that the question of the appropriateness of the site of this particular statute may be carefully investigated by the Government when the question again comes up for consideration? Although the site now chosen is obviously a more central one, I doubt whether it is exactly appropriate to the work of art which we are considering.

LORD HENDERSON

I think the Government are taking the right course in consulting the Fine Art Commission as to the best site for the statue.