The name Sir Walter Raleigh will forever be associated with Elizabeth I and the first Elizabethan era when great fame and fortune came readily to England’s Virgin Queen. It was a time of great discoveries and of worldliness that Sir Walter contributed to.

Sir Walter Raleigh HN 1751.

Sir Walter Raleigh – poet, writer, soldier, courtier and explorer – is today recognised as one of the 100 most important people in England’s history.

A portrait of Raleigh with his son in a similar pose to the Doulton figure.

Hailing from Devon, he was a favourite of Elizabeth I at one time and was knighted by her in 1585. He was instrumental in the colonisation of North America and his explorations to Virginia paved the way for future English settlements there.

One of Doulton’s famous character hugs to the great man.

There has even been a Doulton Bunnykins made of Raleigh.

Whilst his story is a famous one, inspiration for this true to life study of him by Royal Doulton derives from a popular source of early Doulton figures, Dion Clayton Calthrop’s book on English Costume from the early 20th Century. He appears to have been modelled on the illustration shown with minor changes including the ruff around his neck.

HN 1751 and one of Calthrop’s illustrations.