Statue of Robert Raikes, London Statue of Robert Raikes, London A statue of Robert Raikes, often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools, executed by the sculptor Thomas Brock, stands in Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, United Kingdom. It was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury on 3 July 1880 and marked the centenary of the opening of the first Sunday school. The critic Edmund Gosse considered the statue to be "as good as anything of the kind we possess in England". In 1958 it was designated a Grade II-listed building. The front of the plinth reads: . An inscription below the figure's right foot
George Raikes George Raikes Rev. George Barkley Raikes (14 March 1873 – 18 December 1966) was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Hampshire as well as representing the England national football team. Raikes was born at Wymondham and was educated at Shrewsbury School. He kept goal for the school team between 1890 and 1892, before going up to Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford he won a blue in football in each of the four years from 1893 to 1896. Raikes, a middle order batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, played his early first-class cricket at Oxford University where