Queen Victoria statue missing from Houses of Parliament for over 100 years is found – WBNews

© Telegraph A carved stone statue of Queen Victoria missing from the Houses of Parliament for over 100 years was whisked away by former Prime Minister William Gladstone, a discovery suggests. The 5ft 6in tall figure was spotted during a routine valuation by an auctioneer 97 miles from the Palace of Westminster in the shrubbery of a property in Hampshire – a home once owned by one of Mr Gladstone’s descendants. The present-day owner of the home in Ringwood acquired the statue when he bought the land in 1971 – and it has remained in the back garden ever since. It is thought to have been removed from the Houses of Parliament during restoration works to the façade in the late 19th or early 20th century. Researchers began sourcing the Anston stone statue’s history and came across a sketch of it by renowned sculptor John Thomas. Prior to his death in 1862, Thomas worked as the Superintendent of Stone-Carving at the Houses of Parliament and, as such, was responsible for the supervision of the Gothic style statues of former kings and queens that existed for the exterior of the building. It is understood members of parliament were given the right to “acquire” the statues, or other architectural elements, when they were removed or replaced due to weathering. The home in which it was found all these years later previously belonged to the Keith Gladstone, a descendant of the four-time Prime Minister William. Originally a Conservative politician, he later helped form…more detail