ornamentedbeing:

Profile of the head of Elizabeth I’s effigy

Detail on the head of the funeral effigy of Elizabeth I.

This effigy was mostly constructed in 1760. The original funeral effigy made in 1603 for Elizabeth’s funeral was, by the beginning of the eighteenth century, in a deplorable state. Little survived and so it was decided to incorporate the old effigy into a new one which would retain certain characteristics. This was the end result. The nucleus of the effigy is essentially the one from 1603, but it has been drastically altered.

The head was replaced with a wax one. The original hips were filled out and certain items fixed to the model (like a pair of drawers). The cost of the changes amounted to £56 2s 3d which included items of dress for the effigy.

Overall parts of the costume date to the eighteenth century. However certain parts were added in the nineteenth century with some more adjustments made in the 1930s and 1950s. Many items of dress and jewellery are not related to Elizabethan fashion but reflect the fashion of the eighteenth century. For example the model wears a choker of a type favoured by women around the 1760s.