A rare public honor to an English monarch
This bas relief of King George II on the east side of Christ Church is thought to be the only surviving outdoor homage to English royalty on any public building in the original 13 Colonies. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast.
If you pass by Philadelphia’s Christ Church on Second Street just north of Market Street, look up above the Palladian window and you’ll see this unusual bas relief of England’s King George II.
He was king when the current Christ Church was being built from about 1727 to 1744. John Francis Marion, author of “Walking Tours of Philadelphia,” says the piece was removed in the 1790s.
Why then? According to an article titled, “Tallyrand in Philadelphia,” French revolutionary fever raged in Philadelphia in 1794, and English emigrees were the subject of scorn. That’s when George II was unceremoniously removed. USHistory.org says he went back up in 1994.
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