Geoffrey Chaucer Statue

The plinth of this statue depicts the characters featured in Chaucer’s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, but their faces are represented by locals with Canterbury connections.

Actor Orlando Bloom, who was born in Canterbury is depicted at the front of the plinth as the “Young Squire,”along with other locals. There are 29 pilgrims mentioned in the Canterbury Tales, which tells the stories of pilgrims traveling from London to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. 

Geoffrey Chaucer was a medieval English poet, writer, and philosopher and was one of the best English poets of all time. He is considered a father of the English language and literature and is best known for his work The Canterbury Tales.

The statue and plinth are different creations from separate artists who worked together on the sculpture. The two-meter high sculpture of Chaucer was created by Kent sculptor Sam Holland, and the plinth by Lynne O’Dowd.