Restoration Intern Saxon Deities

5 August 2015

Meet the Saxon Deities: Mona, Tiw, Woden, Thunor, Friga, Seatern and Sunna, these gods are named after the days of the week.  The deities are replicas of those that were commissioned in 1727 to represent the English nation’s Germanic roots. Cobham incorporated them along his Path of Liberty as they were associated with the ancient liberties of Britain and were part of the Germanic political heritage that the British shared with the Hanoverian dynasty, which had ruled the country since 1714.

As part of life at Stowe, statues like these get moved around at the whim of the Dukes. They were eventually placed in the Grecian Valley in 1773 where a yew tree was planted next to each statue. The original yews cast a gloomy shadow over the area and were eventually felled.

The Portland stone statues themselves were all sold in 1921 but later located so each could be used to mould a replica. Thunor, however, is yet to be copied from where he resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and placed in the gardens to complete their circle of power!