These are fragments from an Altar Piece sculpted by Grinling Gibbons and his assistant Arnold Quellin the younger, an Antwerp artist. Designed by Inigo Jones, it was intended for the Chapel at the Palace at Whitehall, in the City of Westminster during the reign of Charles II. However, the plans for the chapel had to be laid aside but the Altar piece had been finished, so it was deposited for safe keeping in an out-building adjacent to the King's Palace at Hampton Court. It lay there until the reign of Queen Anne when it attracted the attention of Sir Christopher Wren, Master of Her Majesty's Board of Works.

Sir Christopher who at the time was engaged in the repairing and ornamenting of Westminster Abbey, suggested that the altar piece "might be placed with advantage" in the choir of the Abbey. The Queen agreed and it was accordingly removed and reconstructed in the Abbey's choir. It remained there for some years until preparations were being made for the Coronation of King George IV when it was replaced by another altar of a style considered to be more appropriate to the Abbey's Gothic structure. Walker King D.D., Bishop of Rochester, who was also Vicar of St Andrew's at Burnham obtained fragments of the altar piece during its dismantling and had them transported to Burnham where they were erected in the manner illustrated below.

The structure occupied almost the whole of the east wall, blocking out the light from the east window, but during a later restoration period some fragments were removed to other parts of the church leaving just the Cherub plates in place and the angels on their pedestals at either side of the altar. One fragment however became lost until recent years when it was discovered in the attic of the nearby vicarage and returned to the body of the church.

The aspect of this massive structure became rather renowned, and the Sexton at the time was instructed to show visitors around and sell leaflets on the Statuary's history for 2/6d, which in those days was quite a large amount.

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