Another missing statue replaced at historic garden

A second missing statue, dating back to the early 19th Century, has been replaced in a listed garden.

The Statue of Fidelity was created for the Swiss Garden at Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire, but was thought to have gone missing in the 1970s when the garden was mostly neglected.

A replica of the original has now been unveiled in the garden, thanks to Friends of the Swiss Garden, the Shuttleworth Trust said.

The charity reinstated another lost statue - Diana of Gabii – in January 2025.

It was believed the original Diana artwork could have been removed in the 1970s after becoming damaged, or might even have been stolen.

Made of white marble and architectural resin, it was a reproduction of the original Roman marble copy of a Greek statue dating from the 4th Century BC.

The trust said: "Little information is known about how long the original Fidelity statue was there, or what happened to the artwork.

"It could have been that the artwork was damaged during the 1970s when the Swiss Garden fell into disrepair."

It appealed to the public for more information about the Fidelity statue, and added: "We'd love to uncover more details about the artwork!"

The Swiss Garden, which features 13 listed pieces, is one of the best-kept examples of a Regency garden in the UK, the Shuttleworth Trust said.

It was first created in the 1820s by Robert Henley, Lord of Ongley, and later restored and developed by the Shuttleworth family.

Bedfordshire County Council leased it in 1976, and it was renovated and reopened to the public in 1981, with Heritage Lottery funding allowing further restoration in 2012.

The Friends of the Swiss Gardens was set up in 1992 to support and raise funds for the site.

The charity decided to begin reinstating statues following the garden's 200th anniversary in 2024.

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