Mystery over college statues missing for 200 years

A university college is appealing for help to find three missing statues that once stood atop its chapel tower.

The statues have not been seen for more than 200 years but University of Oxford's Trinity College, hopes they may have ended up in a garden, outbuilding or even a public space.

For hundreds of years four statues have formed part of the Oxford skyline, overlooking Broad Street. They represent astronomy, geometry, medicine and theology.

However, while working on plans to replace the weather-beaten statues, the college's archivist, Clare Hopkins, discovered the four currently standing on the building are not the originals.

Uncovering the statue's history, Hopkins, found the 9ft-tall women were originally installed when the chapel tower was built between 1691 and 1694.

However in the early 1820s, the statues were removed and replaced with new figures by an Oxford stonemason.

While the statue, representing medicine, was placed in a garden of Trinity College, the fate of the other three figures remains a mystery.

Hopkins said: "The statues on the chapel tower are such an iconic part of Trinity College, and it is really frustrating that we have these gaps in their documented history.

"It would be amazing if we could locate any of the 'missing' statues from the past and to learn what the stones themselves can tell us."

The college has also uncovered a sketch of the original statues which dates back to the early 1690s.

The print was made after the college's then-president Ralph Bathurst consulted renowned architect Christopher Wren about the plans.

It is unknown what happened to the three missing figures but it is possible parts of them could have been reused in the replacement statues or they could have been re-homed.

The college is now appealing for anyone who has seen or owns a stone statue or fragment, including a head, torso or carved section resembling a classical female figure, to get in touch.

It particularly wants to hear from anyone with statues or fragments that could date from the late 17th or early 19th Century, and have a connection to Oxford or its surrounding area.

Alex Wenham, an award-winning stone carver based in Oxford, has been commissioned to replace the existing statues.