LONDON STATUES - POLITICIANS

LONDON STATUES - POLITICIANS

     Some British Politicians made their mark without getting the top job. But they still got a statue.

    First, a gem of a trivia question: Apart from the obvious, what did British politician John Wilkes and Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth have in common?

    As usual, the accompanying portraits are courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery: For use in non-commercial projects (e.g. online in scholarly and non-profit publications and websites, blogs, local society newsletters and family history).

JOHN WILKES (1727–1797)

    Radical journalist, MP and thorn in the side of the establishment, Wilkes became a symbol of liberty and free speech through his battles with the Crown over his newspaper The North Briton. His repeated expulsions from Parliament only increased his popularity, making him one of the first truly “public” politicians. His No. 45 issue attacking the King made '45' into a political slogan.

     Wilkes was known for having a pronounced squint, frequently exaggerated in caricatures of the time. Coincidentally John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln's assassin, also had a distinctive squint.

  

Fetter Lane

     Often referred to as the cross-eyed statue in London guides. 'A champion of English Freedom' is inscribed on the plinth.

FRANCIS RUSSELL, 5TH DUKE OF BEDFORD (1765–1802)

    A Whig aristocrat and reform sympathiser, Russell helped shape Bloomsbury, turning it into one of London’s most elegant districts. Though not a front-line statesman, his influence on urban development and liberal politics was lasting. Russell Square takes its name from his family.

   

Russell Square

ROBERT GROSVENOR, 1ST MARQUESS OF WESTMINSTER (1767-1845)

     A Whig MP turned peer, Grosvenor oversaw the transformation of marshland into Belgravia - one of London’s most prestigious neighbourhoods. His political career was solid rather than spectacular, but his impact on London’s geography was enormous. Belgravia is named after the family’s Cheshire village of Belgrave. 

    Much of Mayfair is still owned by the Grosvenor family. The average price for a house in Mayfair is around £9.5 million.

 Grosvenor Square

     The hounds on the monument are talbot dogs, introduced to this country by the Normans as hunting dogs. Now extinct, they are considered the ancestors of the modern bloodhound. Grosvenor's foot rests on a milestone, inscribed 'Chester 197 miles', the distance to the Grosvenor Estates.

Grosvenor coat of arms

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE (1759–1833)

     The moral force behind the abolition of the slave trade, Wilberforce spent decades campaigning in Parliament, driven by evangelical conviction. Though he never held top office, his persistence led to one of Britain’s most significant humanitarian reforms. The slave trade was abolished in 1807; slavery itself followed in 1833, just days before his death. He was a close ally of William Pitt the Younger.

    

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office                                                                      

ROWLAND HILL (1795–1879)

    Not a conventional politician but a reforming administrator, Hill revolutionised communication with the introduction of the Penny Post. His reforms made sending letters affordable and transformed both social and commercial life. He introduced the world’s first adhesive postage stamp - the Penny Black - and standardised prepaid postage - a radical idea at the time.

         

King Edward Street                                                                        

     The statue stands near the site of the former General Post Office.

        

                   Westminster Abbey                                        Penny Black                            

WILLIAM EDWARD FORSTER (1818–1886)

      Forster was a Liberal MP best remembered for the 1870 Education Act, which laid the foundations of universal elementary education in England. His career later became entangled in Irish politics, where his coercion policies proved highly controversial. He is often described as 'the father of elementary education'.

Victoria Embankment, Temple

FENNER BROCKWAY (1888–1988)

    Lifelong socialist, anti-imperialist and peace campaigner, Brockway’s career spanned nearly the entire 20th century. Though never in top office, he influenced debates on decolonisation and human rights. He was imprisoned during the First World War for his pacifism and remained politically active into his nineties.

     

 Red Lion Square                                                                                    

ERNEST BEVIN (1881–1951)

    Trade union leader turned statesman, Bevin played a crucial role in wartime labour mobilisation. Later, as Foreign Secretary, he helped shape post-war Europe and was central to the creation of NATO. Co-founder of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, Bevin became a key architect of the Western alliance in the early Cold War.

       

Tooley Street                                                                    

Tate Britain

Bronze (1943) by Jacob Epstein 

ANEURIN “NYE” BEVAN (1897–1960)

     Firebrand Labour politician and founder of the NHS, Bevan combined ideological conviction with political skill to push through one of Britain’s defining social reforms. Under his leadership, the National Health Service was launched in 1948, nationalising hospitals and providing free healthcare at the point of use. He famously said he had to "stuff the doctors’ mouths with gold" to get it through.

    

     "Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune, the cost of which should be shared by the community" Nye Bevan  

RICHARD WHITTINGTON (c.1354–1423)

     Merchant, philanthropist and four-time Lord Mayor of London, Richard Whittington’s real achievements were later wrapped in folklore - most famously the tale of his cat and the road to riches. The cat is a later addition - but now inseparable from his legend. 

    

Guildhall Art Gallery (with cat)                                                        

    There are actually more statues in London of his mythical cat than Whittington himself.

   

Highgate Hill

    The statue Dick Whittington’s Cat (1964) sits on the stone that marks the spot where Wittington is said to have heard Bow bells calling 'Turn again, Dick Whittington, Lord Mayor of London'. 

    According to folklore he rose from childhood poverty to make a fortune by selling his cat to rid England of rats. In reality, he came from a wealthy family and there’s no evidence he owned a cat - or stood on this spot.

    But the powers that be didn't pussy about. Not content with erecting a statue to a fictitious cat they also named the local NHS hospital - with its own cat statue - to commemorate this non-event.

     

     The Whittington was formerly three separate hospitals which amalgamated when the NHS was founded in 1948.

     If you've learned nothing else from this post, at least you now know the difference between Ernest Bevin and Nye Bevan:

    Bevin built alliances, Bevan built hospitals. 

    My personal hint is the 'a' in Bevan for ambulance.