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The monument, of 1951, also incorporates a bronze plaque of 1928 and later sculptural additions of 1999. The sculpture is a larger-than-life representation of an astrolabe cast in bronze. This surmounts a rough-hewn granite simulation of a rocky promontory. It commemorates the departure of settlers from Blackwall Quay to establish a colony at Jamestown, Virginia (USA) in 1607. The flotilla was made up of three small ships – Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery. During the voyage there were times when the ships lay becalmed and it was on one of these occasions that Captain John Smith, a soldier and adventurer, was charged with mutiny by Captain Christopher Newport who was in overall charge of the passage. Smith was then held securely for the rest of the voyage, pending execution on landfall.
Title
Virginia Quay Settlers Monument
Date
1951 & 1999
Medium
bronze, rough-hewn & polished granite
Accession number
E14_AM_S615
Acquisition method
commissioned by the London Port Authority
Work type
Monument
Owner
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
Custodian
Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
Work status
extant
Listing status
Grade II (England and Wales)
Listing date
09/03/17
Access
at all times
Inscription description
affixed to the base, a bronze plaque of 1928, which is offset to the W; the plaque has the embossed lettering: FROM NEAR THIS SPOT / DECEMBER 19 1606 / SAILED WITH "105 ADVENTURERS" / THE "SUSAN CONSTANT" 100 TONS / CAPT CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT / IN SUPREME COMMAND / THE "GODSPEED" 40 TONS / CAPT BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD / THE "DISCOVERY" 20 TONS / CAPT JOHN RATCLIFFE / LANDED AT CAPE HENRY VIRGINIA / APRIL 1607 / ARRIVED AT JAMESTOWN VIRGINIA / MAY 13 1607 / WHERE THESE "ADVENTURERS" / FOUNDED THE FIRST PERMANENT / ENGLISH COLONY IN AMERICA / UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE / INTREPID CAPT JOHN SMITH / EDWARD MARIA WINGFIELD / PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL / THE REVEREND ROBERT HUNT / AND OTHERS / AT JAMESTOWN JULY 30 1619 WAS / CONVENED THE FIRST ASSEMBLY IN AMERICA.; the plaque also records that it was erected in 1928, by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, in commemoration of the settlers; on the base of the monument, on the N and S faces it has the inscription: VIRGINIA QUAY / THE VIRGINIA SETTLERS MEMORIAL TABLET WAS / UNVEILED IN 1928 ON THE WALL / OF BRUNSWICK HOUSE WHICH FORMERLY STOOD / ABOUT 100 YARDS TO THE WEST OF THIS POINT / IN 1999 BARRATT HOMES LIMITED REINSTATED / THIS MONUMENT AND COMMISSIONED THE MARINERS ASTROLABE / BY WENDY TAYLOR C.B.E.