The bronze statue of Chatterton (along with those of Tyndale and William Penn nearby) is the work of Lawrence Holofcener.
It replaces an older monument as the only statue of Chatterton in Bristol. The previous one was the design of Bristol architect S.C.Fripp in 1838 and said to have then cost £100. It was first placed in the corner between the North Porch and the tower of St Mary Redcliffe. In January 1846 the vicar of St. Mary's, described as 'eccentric', claimed that the statue had been 'erected on consecrated ground without his permission'. In April of 1846, after a church restoration scheme begun, the vicar had the statue removed and it was stored in the crypt. On the 31 July 1857, the monument was re-erected on un-consecrated ground further to the east, but still close to the church and facing Chatterton's birthplace and the Pile Street school. The monument remained there until it was taken down in 1967 when a commemorative plaque was placed in the south transept.
