LONDON STATUES - RELIGION

LONDON STATUES - RELIGION

    London’s statues aren’t only about kings, generals and politicians. Scattered across the capital are monuments to men and women whose influence came through faith - from medieval archbishops to Victorian social reformers. From the martyrdom of Thomas Becket to the East End mission of William and Catherine Booth, these statues trace seven centuries of religious history written into London’s streets.

THOMAS BECKET (c.1119-1170)

     One of England’s most dramatic church–state clashes is graphically commemorated at St Paul’s. Thomas Becket began life as the trusted chancellor and close friend of King Henry II, but after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury he fiercely defended the independence of the Church. Their dispute ended violently in 1170. Henry, frustrated by Becket’s resistance to royal authority angrily uttered the words: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four knights took the remark as a command and travelled to Canterbury Cathedral, where they murdered Becket. The killing shocked medieval Europe and Becket was swiftly canonised, becoming one of England’s most famous saints.

St Paul's Churchyard

    This dramatic rendition of Becket's last moments, by Edward Bainbridge Copnall, was originally created for the Canterbury Cathedral but acquired by the City of London Corporation in 1973. Although it looks like bronze, it is actually made of fibreglass resin. Becket was born in nearby Cheapside.

90 Cheapside

    Installed in 1986, this small relief of Thomas Becket commemorates the medieval church of St. Thomas Becket, which stood nearby. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London (1666).

    Becket was canonised just three years after his death (1173), unusually quickly.

    His shrine at Canterbury became the most famous pilgrimage site in England, later immortalised in The Canterbury Tales.
    Historians debate the exact wording of Henry II's fateful line, most commonly with 'meddlesome' rather than 'turbulent'.

    In 1538, Henry VIII ordered Becket’s shrine at Canterbury Cathedral destroyed because Becket symbolised resistance to royal authority over the Church.

WILLIAM TYNDALE (c.1494-1536) 

     William Tyndale produced the first widely printed translation of the Bible into English directly from Hebrew and Greek. At a time when such work was banned in England, he was forced to live in exile on the continent. Eventually betrayed and arrested, he was executed on the charge of heresy for his opposition to Henry VIII's divorce. As he was burned at the stake, his last words were, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes". Within a year of his death, Tyndale's Bibles were published in England - with the blessing of Henry. And much of his translation later formed the basis of the King James Version. 

 Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden

     The statue, unveiled in 1884, has a copy of the New Testament standing on a German printing press referencing the times he spent in Cologne and Worms producing bibles to be smuggled into England.

     Tyndale introduced many familiar biblical phrases such as “let there be light” and “the powers that be.”
     About 80–90% of the King James New Testament is based on Tyndale’s translation.
     Tyndale is credited with introducing many words and phrases to the English language, such as scapegoat, atonement, Passover, the powers that be, my brother's keeper and the salt of the earth.

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791)

    An Anglican clergyman and tireless preacher, John Wesley travelled thousands of miles across Britain on horseback spreading a message of personal faith, social reform and practical Christianity. His energetic ministry sparked a revival movement that grew into the global Methodist Church, and his London chapel - opened in 1778 - remains one of the movement’s spiritual homes.

Wesley’s Chapel, 49 City Road

    Wesley lived in a house alongside the chapel, built in 1777, and is buried in the graveyard behind the chapel.

St Paul's Churchyard

      Wesley regularly attended services at St Paul's. This statue, unveiled in 1988, commemorates the 250th anniversary of his conversion.

     Wesley is estimated to have ridden more than 250,000 miles on horseback while preaching.
     He delivered over 40,000 sermons in his lifetime.
     Despite founding Methodism, he never left the Church of England.

     

     Charles Wesley, John’s younger brother, wrote more than 6,000 hymns, many of which - including Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling and Jesus, Lover of My Soul - remain staples of Christian worship. Some hymns are attributed jointly to the brothers, like O God, Our Help in Ages Past. The Wesleys believed singing was as important as preaching, helping congregations remember and live their faith.

ROBERT RAIKES (1735-1811)

     A newspaper publisher from Gloucester, Raikes was troubled by the plight of poor children working long hours in factories. In the 1780s he began organising Sunday Schools to teach them reading, writing and religious instruction on their only day off. The idea spread rapidly across Britain and beyond, helping educate millions of working-class children.

Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden

     By the 1830s, over a million children in Britain attended Sunday Schools.
     Raikes himself called the movement “a scheme to prevent vice.”

WILLIAM AND CATHERINE BOOTH (1829-1912; 1829-1890) 

     The statues on Mile End Road commemorate the remarkable partnership of William Booth and his wife Catherine. In the poverty-stricken East End of Victorian London, the couple founded the Salvation Army in 1865 to combine evangelism with practical aid for the poor, homeless and addicted. Their quasi-military organisation - with uniforms, brass bands and ranks - soon spread worldwide, becoming one of the best-known Christian charities.

          

Mile End Road

     

     In 1865, following the practice of John Wesley, William Booth held his first open-air sermon here in Whitechapel. His bust, unveiled 1927, was to be replaced by his statue in 1979. But the bust was listed, so both remain. The statue of Catherine was added in 2015 to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Salvation Army. Both statues are fibreglass copies of those in front of the William Booth Memorial Training College in Denmark Hill.

William Booth Memorial Training College, Denmark Hill

    Catherine Booth was nicknamed “The Mother of the Salvation Army.”
    The organisation adopted military titles and uniforms to symbolise a “war against poverty and sin.”
    Today the Salvation Army operates in over 130 countries.

     Why are there so few statues in this post?

    These statues represent only the most visible part of religion in sculpture. Step inside London’s churches and cathedrals and you find centuries’ worth of saints, angels and memorial effigies, while the capital’s temples house sculpted deities central to their traditions. Mosques, by contrast, generally avoid figurative imagery altogether. Set against that wider background, the handful of religious figures standing in London’s streets are only a small part of the story.