Robert Clayton

Robert Clayton was born in 1629, the son of "a poor man of no family". Working firstly as a land agent and subsequently as a banker, he made a large fortune such that, by the 1670s, the diarist John Evelyn, described him as "this prince of citizens, there never having been any, who, for the stateliness of his palace, prodigious feasting, and magnificence, exceeded him". Clayton became an M.P., served on innumerable parliamentary committees and in 1692 was made President of St Thomas' Hospital, an office he held until his death in 1707. in Southwark, founded in the 12th century. By the late 17th century, the hospital was in a dilapidated state and Clayton employed the architect, and St…

The statue is carved in marble, and stands on a marble plinth. Clayton is depicted in his robes, with a periwig and pigtail, and carrying a scroll. The plinth is decorated with cherubs and bears an inscription in Latin. Fragments of decoration on the pedestal suggest that it was once painted.