 In 1898 George Frederic Watts was approached by Henry Gamble, vicar of St Botolph's, Aldersgate church in the City of London.St Botolph's former churchyard had recently been converted, along with two smaller adjoining burial grounds, into Postman's Park, one of the largest public parks in the City of London, and the church was engaged in a protracted financial and legal dispute over ownership of part of the park.To provide a public justification for keeping the disputed land as part of the park, and to raise the park's profile and assist in fundraising, the church offered part of the park as a site for his proposed memorial.