~ THE MARLOWE MEMORIAL ~

CANTERBURY

The BUTTERMARKET, unveiled September 16, 1891 by Henry Irving

Moved to the DANE JOHN, unveiled November 1, 1928

Re-erected in front of the MARLOWE THEATRE, THE FRIARS

Views of the Marlowe memorial in the Buttermarket, one from an old postcard, and one picture by H. B. Collis

 

September 16, 1891

The Marlowe memorial by Mr. Onslow Forde, A.R.A., erected at Catnerbury, near the Christ Church gate of the Cathedral, unveiled by Mr. Henry Irving in the presence of a large assemblage of literary admirers.

 

The statue was created by Mr. Onslow Forde, ARA

The niches were empty when the statue was unveiled in 1891

The statuettes of Dr. Faustus, the Jew of Malta, and Edward II, necessary to complete the Memorial, have now been cast by Mr. Hartill, R.A. and will probably be paced in position in the coming autumn beside that of Marlowe's... The Shakespear Review

"In 1891 a bronze statue of a muse was erected in the Old Butter Market, to commemorate the ter-centenary of the poet Christopher Marlowe, who was born in this city in 1564, and died at Deptford, 1 June 1593." *he died at the age of 29 Kelly's Directory of Kent 1903

 

"The Monument to Marlowe, which used to be just outside the entrance to the Cathedral Close, but has been moved to the Dane John Park, was unveiled by Sir Henry Irving in 1891, nearly three hundred years late. The dominating figure is the muse of Dramatic Poetry; the four little bronzes on the pedestal represent Irving as Tamburlaine, Sir Johnston Forbes-Roberston as Faustus, James K. Hackett as Edward II, and Edward Alleyn, a contemporary of Marlowe, as the Jew of Malta.""The Monument to Marlowe, which used to be just outside the entrance to the Cathedral Close, but has been moved to the Dane John Park, was unveiled by Sir Henry Irving in 1891, nearly three hundred years late. The dominating figure is the muse of Dramatic Poetry; the four little bronzes on the pedestal represent Irving as Tamburlaine, Sir Johnston Forbes-Roberston as Faustus, James K. Hackett as Edward II, and Edward Alleyn, a contemporary of Marlowe, as the Jew of Malta." 1933

 

View of the Marlowe memorial in the Buttermarket

 

"In earlier times an ancient play-house stood over the bull-stake, so that the statue of the Lyric Muse erected on the site in memory of Christopher Marlowe the dramatist who was born in the city in 1564 occupies a significant position. It was erected in 1891 and unvieled by Sir Henry Irving."

Austen's Hand-book to Canterbury c. 1891

 

The Marlowe Memorial was moved to the Dane John sometime before October 10th, 1921, when the War Memorial was unvieled in the buttermarket. She apparently was vandalized quite heavily while she was in the Dane John.

 

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Views of the Marlowe memorial in the Dane John

 

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Now you can find the statue in front of the Marlowe Theatre on The Friars

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