Monuments Class Projects
Architect/Sculptor of Monument
Unknown
Preview
Identifier
14a
Medium
Photograph, carte-de-viste
Keywords
Rufus Stone, William II of England, New Forest, English Legend, William II death, English Monarchy, Norman England, William I
Physical Dimensions
58 mm x 84 mm
Date of Publication
Mid-1800s
Name of Monument
Rufus Stone
Date of Creation of Monument
1741
Date of Completion or Dedication of Monument
1845
City of Monument
New Forest
State/Province of Monument
Hampshire
Country of Monument
England
Description
The monument marks the alleged spot where King William II (reigned 1087-1100), also known as “Rufus”, was killed by a member of his own hunting party in 1100. This Rufus Stone has stood since 1745, although the iron casing around the stone was erected in 1841 to prevent vandalism and erosion. While surrounded by mystery and myth, his death by arrow at the hands of Lord Walter Tirel while hunting is well-documented and remains one of the greatest royal mysteries of England, and we may never know if it was accidental or planned. The monument’s inscription details William’s demise, and that his body was taken to be buried at Winchester Cathedral.
School of Art/Architecture
Neoclassical Architecture
Digital Date
1-19-2022
Copyright
Original physical carte-de-visite is in the public domain. Digital copy scanned by Rod Library, ©2022 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
Rights Advisory
Original print carte-de-visite card is in the public domain; U.S. and International copyright laws protect this digital object. Commercial use of this digital object is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
File Format
image/jpeg
Comments
Background
The current Rufus Stone, put up in 1745 and covered by iron in 1841, commemorates the death of William II of England (r. 1087-1100), also known as Rufus, and has stood since the original was put up. The cover encases the original monument. It commemorates the story of one of the most mysterious deaths in English royal history. William Rufus was not considered a good king due to his disdain for the clergy and his lackadaisical approach to ruling, in that he preferred to hunt and party. His death was hardly mourned, while his brother Henry I was crowned king less than a week afterwards, both perhaps pointing to an assassination plot.1 Rufus’s legacy is one of mystery and intrigue, with numerous conflicting views of his personality, beliefs, and death.
William II (1056-1100), known as Rufus due to his red beard, was the third son of William the Conqueror. When his father died in 1087, he inherited the English throne and held it for thirteen years. He never married or had any children, and when he died, his younger brother Henry took the throne. It has been speculated that Rufus was either homosexual or bisexual, and it seems that there is evidence to support this in contemporary accounts by from English bishops and monks, many of whom were openly hostile towards him. His disrespectful treatment of the Church’s clergy, as well as his court and the “effeminate” personalities and physical traits of his closest courtiers, led many in both the church and under his rule to dislike him (although it must be said that much of what is known was written by those whom he was openly hostile towards). 2
His death while hunting in New Forest is still cloaked in confusion, and with no conclusive evidence. Historians have argued that it was an assassination, a cult sacrifice, a planned murder, or a simple hunting accident. While historians today generally agree that the last was the most likely, there is still some debate, and it will never be proven completely.3 Here is what is known about the events leading up to and following his death. On August 2, 1100, William II and his Court, including his brother Henry, went out into New Forest for a hunting party. Near the beginning of the hunt, one of his comrades shot an arrow which glanced off of a large tree and then struck Rufus in the chest, killing him almost instantly. At Rufus’ death, the man said to be his killer, Lord Walter Tirel, immediately fled. There are several rumors surrounding his hasty getaway, including a story wherein he stopped and had a blacksmith put reverse horseshoes on his horse to confuse any pursuers. He does not seem to ever have been brought to justice. Rufus was disliked by many outside of his court, making it possible that Tirel was part of an accession plot led by Henry.4 Other myths, including that Rufus’ burial at the Winchester Cathedral caused its tower to collapse, do exist, and provide an interesting sub-plot to the already known parts of the story.
The Rufus Stone was originally put up in 1745 by John West Lord Delaware to commemorate where the tree the arrow that killed William glanced off was prior to its removal. It was covered in 1841 due to deterioration and the constant vandalism by tourists, who took pieces as souvenirs. The new monument cover, made of iron and encasing the original stone to prevent vandalism and erosion, was put up by William Sturgess Bourne, the warden of the park, to provide a more permanent marker for the legend. The monument, while fairly small, standing at 5’10”, is still a tourist destination for those interested in the Norman history of England.
Tourists tend to want to take souvenirs from monuments and other sites, which led to the necessity of the far more durable cover being installed. It now stands in the New Forest National Park as one of the main draws in the park, and it is less than a mile away from a pub named for Rufus’s killer, called the Sir Walter Tyrrell Pub. 5 This monument, interestingly, does not stand at the spot that most historians now believe William Rufus was killed, as many agree that he was killed a few miles away, at Beaulieu Estate. This site has seemingly been chosen as the spot of Rufus’ death to draw tourists and sightseers to New Forest, which was originally founded as a ‘new’ forest for hunting by William the Conqueror. The iron cover itself was put up in the middle of the Victorian Iron Age, which is the prime time for builders and sculptors to be using iron for monuments. The original monument, however, seems to have been made of sandstone, from what records we do have, which would attribute to the later necessity of being covered by iron to prevent erosion.
Bibliography
Britain Express. “The Rufus Stone, New Forest: History & Photos.” Britain Express. Accessed February 15, 2022. https://www.britainexpress.com/counties/hampshire/rufus-stone.htm.
Jeans, George Edward. Memorials of Old Hampshire. United Kingdom: Bemrose & Sons Limited, 1906.
Hollister, C. Warren. “The Strange Death of William Rufus.” Speculum 48, no. 4 (1973): 637–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/2856221.
King, Richard John. A Handbook for Travellers in Surrey, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight. United Kingdom: John Murray, 1865.
“The Rufus Stone.” New Forest National Park Website. New Forest National Park. Accessed 2/15/2022. https://www.new-forest-national-park.com/the-rufus-stone/.
Licence, Tom. 2021. “The Sin King.” History Today, no. 10 (October): 42–49. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hia&AN=152455360&site=ehost-live.
Wise, John Richard de Capel. The New Forest: Its History and Its Scenery. United Kingdom: Smith, Elder and Company, 1895.
1C. Warren Hollister, “The Strange Death of William Rufus,” Speculum 48, No.4. (1973).
2Tom Licence, “The Sin King,” History Today, no. 10 (2021).
3Hollister, “Strange,” Speculum 48, (1973).
4Britain Express, “The Rufus Stone, New Forest: History and Photos,” Britain Express, 2/15/2022.
5“The Rufus Stone,” New Forest National Park, 2/15/2022.