Photos courtesy of University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries, unless otherwise noted.
Lord Botetourt in William & Mary's Wren Yard.
For years, students at the College of William & Mary have traveled to Wren Yard and the statue of Lord Botetourt, affectionately known as “Lord Bot” or “Lord B,” to touch his “lordly pedal appendage,” otherwise known as his foot, when in need of luck for an upcoming exam. This and other traditions, which have been going on for generations, have been updated for the modern age to include social media and web cams. You may be asking yourself: Who was Lord Botetourt (pronounced bot a tot by locals), and how did these traditions begin?
The Real Lord Botetourt
Norborne Berkeley, born in England around 1717, was many things before becoming memorialized on the grounds of William & Mary. Known as the 4th Baron Botetourt in his native England, he was also a member of the House of Lords due to his title. Staunchly loyal to the king, he was appointed Governor of Virginia by George III in 1768, serving as Regent for the William & Mary Board of Visitors at the same time. Botetourt died of a sudden illness while in office in 1770.
Residing At and Presiding Over William & Mary
It’s just a mile from the Governor’s Palace, his last place of residence, to his current home in Wren Yard, but the journey there took decades along with a few twists and turns. According to the College of William & Mary, “Lord Botetourt was a figure so revered by Virginians that they erected a statue in his memory,” making it one of the earliest examples of a public monument in the budding country. Completed in 1773, it was placed in front of the Capitol Building in Williamsburg, where it stayed for nearly 30 years. Sometime after the Revolution, the statue received extensive damage, losing the nose and right hand to vandalism.
Lord Botetourt is the center of attention in a gallery named for him, located on the ground floor of Swem Library. Photo courtesy of Kim Sims.
Engraving of Lord Botetourt, 1774.
William & Mary purchased the statue in 1801, relocating it to Wren Yard (Botetourt is buried in nearby Wren Chapel). Except for a brief time during the Civil War when it was removed for safekeeping, it remained in Wren Yard until 1958, when the deteriorating marble statue was removed to protect it from further damage from the elements. At some point during that time, no one knows when, it had become customary for students to bow or curtsy when they passed the statue. In 1966, he was moved to his newly constructed home, the Botetourt Gallery in the Earl Gregg Swem Library, where he resides today.
A new Lord Bot presides over Wren Yard today. It’s a bronze replica created by Gordon Kray, class of 1973, which was installed in the original location and dedicated, appropriately enough, during homecoming in 1993, to help celebrate the college’s 300th anniversary.
Bringing Tradition into the Modern Era
Because this is the age of social media, Lord Bot has expanded his presence there as well, maintaining both a Facebook page and Twitter account. Like others on social media, he regularly comments on current events or activities on campus. What is particularly distinctive is that he has retained his eighteenth-century voice and charm while doing so.
While some students and alumni still bow or curtsy to Lord Bot, you’ll now find Facebook posts showing him dressed for holidays and special occasions. You may see Lord B holding a handful of green and gold balloons during homecoming or a wreath during Christmas. With the addition of the Wren Cam, broadcasting live from Wren Yard since last year, Lord B posts screenshots of what he calls “plinthies,” which are fans who take selfies or group photos in front of the statue.
The original Lord Botetourt statue was installed inside the Earl Gregg Swim Library in 1966.
And then there’s the tradition of rubbing the “lordly pedal appendage” for good luck. As Lord B posted on Facebook, a student “anxious about a coming examination, having applied himself to his studies with less than perfect assiduity” (he hadn’t really studied), passed his hand over the statue’s right foot and ended up faring well. Of course, the student then told his friends, and the rest, as they say, is history. When exactly all this happened, again, no one is quite sure, though Lord B says that the “fellow was wearing spats.”
While the Lord Bot statue seems to be the most visible tribute, it’s not the only way the college has honored his memory. Every year during William & Mary’s commencement ceremony, a graduating senior is chosen to receive the Botetourt Medal for distinction in scholarship. First established in 1772, it ended in 1775 with the Revolution. However in 1941, Norborne Berkeley, Esq., established an endowment to reinstate the college’s highest honor. A lasting tribute indeed.