Monarchs – King John of England on side of city hall - Bradford, UK - Monarchs of the World on Waymarking.com

The statues are the rulers of England from King William I in 1066 up to and including Queen Victoria who was on the throne when the then Town Hall was built in 1873.

John was born of 24 December 1166 and reigned as King of England 6 April 1199– 19 October 1216.
He succeeded his elder brother Richard I after he died childless.

John was the 5th son of King Henry II, and was not expected to inherit much in the way of lands. However his elder brothers rebelled against their father and John became Henry’s favourite son.
He became the Lord of Ireland in 1177, and was also given some land in England and on the continent.

Whilst King Richard was in the Holy Land fighting the Third Crusade John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against the king’s administrators.

After he became King of England he continued Richard’s war with King Philip of France, but was defeated in 1204. He spent most of the next decade trying to regain his French lands.

In order to finance his campaigns, John had imposed a number of unpopular taxes in England. On his return many of the barons and nobles rebelled against him. In 1215 they signed the Magna Carta peace treaty, but neither side stuck to it. Civil war broke out and whilst on campaign in the East of England John contracted dysentery and died on the 12th October 1216.

The main legacy of John’s reign was the Magna Carter. For the first time it held the king to be accountable in law. Various amendments were made to the Magna Carter over time, but it influenced future law and constitution making, not only in the United Kingdom but also the USA. It was very influential on the United States Bill of Rights signed in 1791. So much so that the American Bar Association have erected a memorial at Runnymede in Surrey where the document was signed.

Monarch Ranking: King / Queen Proper Title and Name of Monarch: King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Maine Country or Empire of Influence: England, Ireland, Normandy and Aquitaine, and Maine in France Website for additonal information: [Web Link]

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