Malmesbury statue of King Aethelstan planned

A statue of Aethelstan, the first king of England, has been proposed for Malmesbury town centre.

Aethelstan, First King of All England Trust are behind plans for the 11ft (3.3m) tall statue on Birdcage Walk.

Aethelstan ruled England from 927 AD to 939 and united the kings of Wessex, Mercia, Northumberland and East Anglia/Danelaw under a single crown.

He was also king of the Anglo Saxons from his coronation in 925, and his bones were buried in Malmesbury Abbey.

Aethelstan was the grandson of Alfred the Great and in 929 he conquered the last Viking kingdom, York, at the Battle of Brunanburh, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England.

He died in Gloucester in 935 and was succeeded by his half-brother Edmund.

His remains have since been moved to a location not publicly known and a tomb was erected at the Abbey in his memory in the 14th Century.

Aethelstan, First King of All England Trust is working with the abbey and Historic England to install the statue and has applied for planning permission, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Barbara Pollard, from the charity, said: "This is a very special location because King Athelstan... became attached to Malmesbury through his admiration from the Abbey's first abbot and his kinsman Aldhelm.

"Creating the statue will increase the focus on Malmesbury's unique and internally important Anglo-Saxon heritage and the role Aethelstan played in uniting England."

"The proposal will also enable the abbey team to fulfil a long-held ambition to increase the public benefit of the area so it can be more easily used for open-air services, exhibitions, performances and stalls for a range of community events," she added.