The Life of Alfred the Great in 10 Monuments

Image Gallery

by Michael McComb
published on 02 July 2025

Alfred the Great ruled the Kingdom of Wessex (England south of the Thames) from 871 to 899. Leading the English resistance to the Vikings, Alfred won several key military victories, built fortified towns and a fleet to enhance his kingdom's defences, expanded his authority into the West Midlands, improved education within his realm, and is traditionally regarded as the first king to aspire toward a united England.

This image gallery comprises 10 monuments in honour of Alfred. While they are primarily based within or near the former Kingdom of Wessex – in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire – the gallery also features a statue of him in Alfred University, New York State, built in commemoration of his educational reforms.

Each monument is associated with a significant moment in Alfred's life or an important aspect of his reign. Statues of the king at Wantage and Winchester allude to the locations of his birth and burial. His monuments at Edington and London mark the locations of significant military victories, while the memorial at Athelney recalls Alfred's founding of a fortress in this marshy isle. Others, like the bust of the king at Stowe Gardens, were built because he deemed them to be amongst the most impressive of English royalty and a great founder of institutions.

Many of these statues depict Alfred almost looking like a Greek god, characterised by broad shoulders, long hair, a thick beard, and a crown. While we cannot say for certain what he really looked like, a contemporary biographer of the king suggests that he was a sickly man and a reluctant warrior-king, and a jewel depicting the king, made during his reign, depicts him clean-shaven. Furthermore, English kings would not wear crowns until the reign of Alfred's grandson, Aethelstan (reign 924-939). Rather than a realistic portrayal of how Alfred looked, these statues are based on Georgian and Victorian interpretations of Alfred as the perfect, muscular, warrior, Christian, philosopher king.

Alfred the Great Statue, Wantage

by Steve Daniels
published on 26 June 2025

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Alfred the Great Statue, Wantage — View Full-Size Image

This marble statue of Alfred the Great is located at the centre of Wantage, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire), where Alfred was born in 849. Alfred was the sixth child of his parents, King Aethelwulf of Wessex (reign 839-858) and Osburh. Alfred seems to have been close to his parents. His mother encouraged him to learn poetry from a young age, and when he was six, Alfred accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome. However, both parents died while he was still a young boy.
The statue was designed by the German prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (Count Gleichen), a sculptor and nephew of Queen Victoria. It was commissioned by a local aristocrat, Robert Loyd-Lindsay, Baron Wantage, to commemorate 1,000 years since Alfred’s birth, although it was not completed until 1877 when it was unveiled by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
Portrayed with a crown, long hair and a beard, the king holds a lowered axe in his right hand while clutching a scroll in his left. It is perhaps an indication of his preference for scholarship over warfare.

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Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished. Original image by Steve Daniels. Uploaded by Michael McComb, published on 26 June 2025. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.