# Impossible request? Identifying a statue in England from a 1918 photo **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760 "2016-03-02T19:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/1 "2016-03-02T19:27:56Z")
This is NOT my thread on the Rick Steves travel forum, but it piqued my interest so I thought I’d ask here. > **[Monument in England topped with Winged Dragon - Rick Steves Travel Forum](https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/monument-in-england-topped-with-winged-dragon)** > > I have a photo of my husband's Dad, Edward Mooney, taken in England ca. 1918 (WWI). He is squatting in front of a small 10'-12' circular monument (almost looks like a cake or candle with dripping wax/frosting). It is topped with a winged dragon (I... Summary: someone has a photo taken in 1918 that says “England” on the back. The photo is of a man kneeling in front of a statue/memorial type thing that has a winged creature on top. The OP described it as a dragon but a few respondents think it looks more like a goose or swan. The OP hopes to figure out where the photo was taken. Scan of the photo here: [Ed Mooney in England ca. 1918 | yvonne mooney | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/140541514@N02/24681342373/in/photostream/lightbox/) Anyone have any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/2 "2016-03-02T20:18:00Z")
I think it ism probably a phoenix or less likely a griffin, can’t say I recognize the statue though. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/3 "2016-03-02T20:23:13Z")
A phoenix makes more sense than a goose, I think. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/4 "2016-03-02T20:47:06Z")
That’s not a dragon, it’s an eagle. The pose is reminiscent of the eagle in the [Badge of the Royal Air Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badge_of_the_Royal_Air_Force). The artistic style reminds me more of the eagle in the [Great Seal of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seal_of_the_United_States) as it was depicted in the middle to late Nineteenth Century. Perhaps the tomb of an ambassador, or some rich American who moved to England in the Gilded Age? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/5 "2016-03-03T00:14:46Z")
So is the feature that looks like an outstretched neck actually part of the wing? (head is down then?) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/6 "2016-03-03T00:17:34Z")
Maybe crop it to the figure on top (the goose-dragon) and do an image search on it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/7 "2016-03-03T00:19:07Z")
Forget the eagle; what I don’t get is why the dripped wax effect on the plinth? Was that stylish? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/8 "2016-03-03T00:25:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Forget the eagle; what I don’t get is why the dripped wax effect on the plinth? Was that stylish? I wondered that too. fake stalactites maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/9 "2016-03-03T00:27:54Z")
It’s almost certainly a tomb, right? You can find a ton of similar looking ones. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/10 "2016-03-03T00:44:34Z")
IMO [it’s pretty clearly a cockatrice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockatrice). [QUOTE=Wikipedia] It was the heraldic beast of the Langleys of Agecroft Hall in Lancashire, England as far back as the 14th century. It is also the symbol of 3 (Fighter) Squadron, a fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/11 "2016-03-03T01:09:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Forget the eagle; what I don’t get is why the dripped wax effect on the plinth? Was that stylish? What do you expect a statue to look like after years as a pigeon roost? ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/12 "2016-03-03T03:55:43Z")
Damn, that’s a disturbing bird! Regardless of the species, it looks like it’s been already partially plucked and is now screaming in pain! Who would make a monument like that? More to the point, who would want to be photographed in front of it? ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/13 "2016-03-03T04:42:28Z")
Does anyone else think that the clothing style (short sleeved shirt) looks too modern for 1918? And that’s a very untended-looking graveyard, if that’s what it is. Of course I can understand anyone’s reluctance to get near that statue! ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/14 "2016-03-03T05:12:22Z")
I think the clothing is fine for 1918. I don’t think that’s a graveyard. There seems to be some kind of mixed planted border in front of the subject, overgrown and probably neglected. My guess is that this is corner of a seriously neglected or completely abandoned formal garden, ornamented with statuary. The weird encrustations on the statue may be stylistic. There was at one time a fashion for baroque “grottos” which were ornamented in this way - have a look [here](http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/grotto-eque.html) - and the air of neglect and decay may have appealed so somebody’s nineteenth-century romantic sensibility. That would also tie in with the mythical beast on the top. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/15 "2016-03-03T09:11:01Z")
I am still unsure (and zooming the photo doesn’t help) whether we are looking at: A bird with wings outstretched, and long neck extended to the front-right, with mouth open A bird with wings outstretched, and head/neck in a bent-forward position (or something), with a feature on the front of the right wing that merely happens to look like an outstretched neck - sort of like the mirror image of [this](http://img10.deviantart.net/80fd/i/2013/132/1/8/bald_eagle_landing_2_by_greyvolk-d65043y.jpg) picture Is the feature that looks like a long neck and an open mouth actually that? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/16 "2016-03-03T11:38:23Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > I think the clothing is fine for 1918. > > I don’t think that’s a graveyard. There seems to be some kind of mixed planted border in front of the subject, overgrown and probably neglected. My guess is that this is corner of a seriously neglected or completely abandoned formal garden, ornamented with statuary. > > The weird encrustations on the statue may be stylistic. There was at one time a fashion for baroque “grottos” which were ornamented in this way - have a look [here](http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/grotto-eque.html) - and the air of neglect and decay may have appealed so somebody’s nineteenth-century romantic sensibility. That would also tie in with the mythical beast on the top. I agree with this assessment. It definitely looks like an English country garden statue. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/17 "2016-03-03T13:26:45Z")
Looks like a Basilisk to me (There’s a great deal of overlap between basilisks and cockatrices – they’re almost identical). Looking up “Basilisk statue” brings up a lot of similar statues, but not the one you link to [https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;\_ylt=AwrBT8C2OthWoOYAWB1XNyoA;\_ylu=X3oDMTE0djUyaTg2BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjE3NTdfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=basilisk+statue&fr=yfp-t-201&fr2=piv-web](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT8C2OthWoOYAWB1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0djUyaTg2BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjE3NTdfMQRzZWMDcGl2cw--?p=basilisk+statue&fr=yfp-t-201&fr2=piv-web) [https://www.google.com/search?q=basilisk+statue&biw=1920&bih=934&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE-Yn-zqTLAhWKvoMKHeCbDCAQ\_AUIBigB](https://www.google.com/search?q=basilisk+statue&biw=1920&bih=934&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE-Yn-zqTLAhWKvoMKHeCbDCAQ_AUIBigB) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/18 "2016-03-03T14:52:59Z")
There was a statute that looked much like that one on the grounds of Highcliffe Castle in Dorset. I can’t imagine the castle grounds were ever left untended like that but maybe the National Trust hadn’t taken it over in 1918. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/19 "2016-03-03T16:08:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There was a statute that looked much like that one on the grounds of Highcliffe Castle in Dorset. I can’t imagine the castle grounds were ever left untended like that but maybe the National Trust hadn’t taken it over in 1918. Harry Selfridge (of department store fame) lived there at that time. I know the castle well - my wife has relatives who live just round the corner (not in a castle, sadly). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760/20 "2016-03-03T16:10:04Z")
That’s right! I forgot Highcliffe was “the Selfridge place.” I’m from Dorset (technically from Yeovil across the border) so I went to Highcliffe a lot when I was a kid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impossible-request-identifying-a-statue-in-england-from-a-1918-photo/747760.md?page=2)