The Blind Beggar and His Dog

In the legend of the Blind Beggar a knight named Henry de Montfort lost his eyesight in the battle of Evesham in 1265. He was nursed by a baroness with whom he had a beautiful daughter named Besse. Shortly after Besse’s birth, Henry fell into poverty and became the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, begging for alms on the crossroads. Besse had four admirers. Three of them gave up their pursuit because of her father’s inability to provide her with a dowry. The fourth suitor married her nevertheless and the couple received an unexpected and generous dowry from her wealthy grandfather.

Set back from the main street, the sculpture of The Blind Beggar and His Dog is easily overlooked by the passerby. Its main audience are the residents who live in the bungalows and tower blocks that line up behind the garden. The buildings of the Cranbrook Estate housing development have lost much of their initial grandeur since local residents moved into the apartments in 1963 and are clearly in need of refurbishment. All the while, The Blind Beggar and His Dog have been sitting there in the garden on top of the fountain that peacefully bubbles away. The sculpture was placed on Historic England’s list of protected sites and is therefore, unlike its surroundings, safeguarded from destruction or decay.