King Billy (William of Orange / William III)

William III, Prince of Orange, ascended the English throne in 1688 following the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution. William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary, James's daughter, until her death in 1694, and then solely until his own death in 1702. In the 18th century, it became common for members of the Whig Ascendancy to assert their support for the Protestant Succession, and by implication their opposition to the Jacobite challenge, by commemorating William. This approach was adopted in Hull; the statue being erected in 1734 with a dedication to "The memory of King William III our great deliverer". The four lamps which stand at the corners of the statue are late-19th century…

The sculpture is in gilded lead and depicts William in the style of a Roman senator. It stands on a stone plinth. The front of the plinth carries an inscription. The statue is a Grade I listed structure, the highest grading given to buildings and structures of "exceptional interest". David Neave, in his Yorkshire: York and the East Riding volume in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, revised and reissued in 2005, describes it as a "fine gilded equestrian statue". Neave is equally appreciative of the public lavatory, "a rare survival of a little-altered Art Nouveau" design with tiling by Burmantofts of Leeds. It is a Grade II listed building.