Blue Boy Statue - Princesshay

This Blue Boy statue was situated at the spot in Princesshay on which the St John's Hospital School was located. The statue originally stood for many years at the entrance. The Blue Boy was removed while the new Princesshay was constructed, and placed on a new plinth for the opening in September 2007.

It is known that the original Blue Boy statue was made of stone, and by 1830 was headless, indicating that it was already very old. It was probably at, or soon after, the founding of St John's Hospital School in 1632, that the statue was made. By 1956, this statue was at 'Cobham', Rose Barn Lane with a new head, and was soon removed to the chapel of Exeter School, where it can now be found. Standing 4 ft 4ins (1.3 metres) high, the head does not match the body and the hands are missing.

There were four cast-iron Blue Boys made when the schoolroom at the St John's Hospital School was rebuilt during 1859/60. Somewhat smaller than the original at 3 ft 6 inches (1.06 metres) high, two had open backs, intended for standing against a wall. After the school was closed in July 1931, two of the statues were displayed in the Hall of the Vicars Choral, South Street, and two disappeared. The two statues in the Hall of the Vicars Choral were rescued after the building was totally destroyed in the 1942 blitz and taken to Upton Pyne, Clyst St Lawrence, a property that belonged to the St John's Hospital Trust. The two lost statues turned up in a builder's yard a few years later.

The inscription reads:

Where are all the statues now?

• Cast-iron, blue painted Blue Boy in Princesshay; probably one of the 'builders yard' solid statues - see photo
• Cast-iron, Blue Boy at Upton Farm, Clyst St Lawrence.
• Cast-iron, painted (with flesh painted hands and face, white collar etc) Blue Boy in the window of the Old Exonian Club Headquarters and Archive Centre at Exeter School. It was originally in a niche in the Butterfield Hall - see photo above courtesy of the Old Exonian Club.
• Cast-iron, Blue Boy statue in the Royal Albert Museum, probably one of the 'builders yard' solid statues.
• Stone Blue Boy statue in the chapel of Exeter School.