1.
Mural
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A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture. Some wall paintings are painted on canvases, which are then attached to the wall. Whether these works can be accurately called murals is a subject of controversy in the art world. Murals of sorts date to Upper Paleolithic times such as the paintings in the Chauvet Cave in Ardèche department of southern France, many ancient murals have been found within ancient Egyptian tombs, the Minoan palaces and in Pompeii. During the Middle Ages murals were executed on dry plaster. The huge collection of Kerala mural painting dating from the 14th century are examples of fresco secco, in Italy, circa 1300, the technique of painting of frescos on wet plaster was reintroduced and led to a significant increase in the quality of mural painting. In modern times, the became more well-known with the Mexican muralism art movement. There are many different styles and techniques, the best-known is probably fresco, which uses water-soluble paints with a damp lime wash, a rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts. The colors lighten as they dry, the marouflage method has also been used for millennia. Murals today are painted in a variety of ways, using oil or water-based media, the styles can vary from abstract to trompe-lœil. Initiated by the works of artists like Graham Rust or Rainer Maria Latzke in the 1980s, trompe-loeil painting has experienced a renaissance in private. The buon fresco technique consists of painting in pigment mixed with water on a layer of wet, fresh. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours. After this the painting stays for a time up to centuries in fresh. Fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster, the pigments thus require a binding medium, such as egg, glue or oil to attach the pigment to the wall. By the end of the century this had largely displaced the buon fresco method. This technique had, in reduced form, the advantages of a secco work, in Greco-Roman times, mostly encaustic colors applied in a cold state were used
2.
Poplar, London
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Poplar is an historical, mainly residential area of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about 5.5 miles east of Charing Cross, historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was formed, which also included Bromley, the district became the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar in 1900 which was abolished in 1965. The district centre is Chrisp Street Market, Poplar contains notable examples of public housing including the Lansbury Estate and Balfron Tower. Architecturally it is a mixture of 18th and 19th-century terraced houses, st Matthias Old Church is located on Poplar High Street, opposite Tower Hamlets College. It is next to Poplar Town Hall – which has mosaic detail – and Poplar Bowls Club, a recently reopened sports centre called The Workhouse stands on the site of Poplar Workhouse, where local politician Will Crooks spent some of his earliest years. The Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was the location, in 1921, of the Poplar Rates Rebellion, led by the Mayor, George Lansbury, who was later elected as leader of the Labour Party. As part of the 1951 Festival of Britain, a new housing estate was built to the north of the East India Dock Road. This estate includes Chrisp Street Market, which was commended by Lewis Mumford. Other notable buildings in Poplar include Poplar Baths, which reopened in 2016 having finally closed in 1988, during the development of the Isle of Dogs the street signs pointed to the new development, and Poplar was lost for a decade or more. The following year, tenants on further estates voted to remain with the Council, although many people associate wartime bombing with The Blitz during World War II, the first airborne terror campaign in Britain took place during the First World War. Air raids in World War One caused significant damage and took many lives, German raids on Britain, for example, caused 1,413 deaths and 3,409 injuries. Air raids provided a means of striking at resources vital to an enemys war effort. The East End of London was one of the most heavily targeted places, Poplar, in particular, was struck badly by some of the air raids during the First World War. Initially these were at night by Zeppelins which bombed the area indiscriminately, the first daylight bombing attack on London by a fixed-wing aircraft took place on 13 June 1917. Fourteen German Gotha G bombers led by Hauptmann Ernst Brandenberg flew over Essex and it was a hot day and the sky was hazy, nevertheless, onlookers in Londons East End were able to see a dozen or so big aeroplanes scintillating like so many huge silver dragonflies. These three-seater bombers were carrying shrapnel bombs which were dropped just before noon, numerous bombs fell in rapid succession in various districts. In the East End alone 104 people were killed,154 seriously injured and 269 slightly injured, the gravest incident that day was a direct hit on a primary school in Poplar
3.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
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The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks, many of the tallest buildings in London occupy the centre of the Isle of Dogs in the south of the borough. A part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is in Tower Hamlets, the borough has a population of 272,890, which includes one of the highest ethnic minority populations in the country and has an established British Bangladeshi business and residential community. Brick Lanes restaurants, neighbouring street market and shops provide the largest range of Bengali cuisine, woodwork, carpets, the local authority is Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. The council, as of 2017 comprises 23 Labour Councillors,5 Conservative councillors,18 independent councillors of various affiliation, Tower Hamlets is located to east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London. The London Borough of Hackney lies to the north of the borough while the River Lea forms the boundary with the London Borough of Newham in the east. On the other side of the Thames is The London Borough of Southwark to the southwest, The London Borough of Lewisham to the South, the River Lea also forms the boundary between those parts of London historically in Middlesex, with those formerly in Essex. The Regents Canal enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at Limehouse Basin, a stretch of the Hertford Union Canal leads from the Regents canal, at a basin in the north of Mile End to join the River Lea at Old Ford. A further canal, Limehouse Cut, Londons oldest, leads from locks at Bromley-by-Bow to Limehouse Basin, most of the canal tow-paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists. Victoria Park was formed by Act of Parliament, and administered by the LCC, since the latter authoritys abolition, the park has been administered by Tower Hamlets. Part of the borough is within the boundary of the Thames Gateway development area, the Hamlets of the Tower paid taxes for the militia in 1646. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets forms the core of the East End and it lies east of the ancient walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Over the course of a century, the East End became synonymous with poverty, overcrowding, disease, the East End developed rapidly during the 19th century. The area attracted large numbers of people looking for employment. Successive waves of immigration began with Huguenot refugees creating a new extramural suburb in Spitalfields in the 17th century. They were followed by Irish weavers, Ashkenazi Jews and, in the 20th century, many of these immigrants worked in the clothing industry. The abundance of semi- and unskilled labour led to low wages and this brought the attentions of social reformers during the mid-18th century and led to the formation of unions and workers associations at the end of the century
4.
Poplar Rates Rebellion
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The Poplar Rates Rebellion, or Poplar Rates Revolt was a tax protest that took place in Poplar, London, England, in 1921. It was led by George Lansbury, the previous years Labour Mayor of Poplar, with the support of the Poplar Borough Council, the protest defied government, the courts, and the Labour Party leadership. George Lansbury would later go on to be the leader of the Labour Party and this programme was expensive and had to be funded from the rates. Because Poplar was a borough, property rents were low. In addition Poplar ratepayers were charged a precept to pay for the London County Council, Metropolitan Police, Metropolitan Asylums Board, the London County Council and Metropolitan Asylum Board responded by taking the matter to the High Court. Thirty councillors, including six women, one of whom, Nellie Cressall, was pregnant, were sent to prison indefinitely for contempt of court for refusing an order to remit the monies. The men were put up in Brixton Prison, and the women in Holloway, the latter were taken by cab to Brixton where council meetings were held. Susan Lawrence used the time to read Tolstoy and prepare a pamphlet on taxation, the revolt received wide public support. Lansbury addressed crowds that gathered outside, through the prison bars. Neighbouring councils threatened to take similar action, trade unions passed resolutions of support and collected funds for the councillors families. Eventually, after six weeks imprisonment, the court responded to public opinion and ordered the councillors released, meanwhile, a bill, the Local Authorities Act 1921, was rushed through Parliament more or less equalising tax burdens between rich and poor boroughs. A mural commemorating the rebellion was painted in 1990 by local resident Mark Francis, in the early 2010s, the mural underwent restoration. The London Mural Preservation Society has a webpage on the mural, janine Booth, Guilty and Proud of it – Poplars Rebel Councillors and Guardians 1919–1925, Merlin Press,2009. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online edition
5.
Poplar Borough Council
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Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855, the borough bordered the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Stepney, and Bethnal Green to the west and north, and the county of Essex to the east. To the south, the River Thames formed borders with the boroughs of Bermondsey, Deptford. It was formed from three parishes, St Mary Stratford-le-Bow, St Leonard Bromley and All Saints Poplar. In 1907 these three were combined into a civil parish called Poplar Borough, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. In 1965 the parish and borough were abolished, with their former area becoming part of the newly formed London Borough of Tower Hamlets, several councillors were imprisoned briefly in 1921 in relation to this. In 1951 Poplar was chosen as the site of the Festival of Britains Exhibition of Live Architecture, the East End of London had been heavily bombed during the war and its reconstruction was showcased at the new Lansbury Estate. New building materials and planning concepts were demonstrated, the trail continued with the Lansbury Estate and Chrisp Street Market. The former town hall in Bow Road, designed by Culpin & Son, is now a listed building, Poplar covered an area of 2,328 acres. The seal depicted the emblems of the three parish vestries merged into the board, the top shield was the seal of Poplar Vestry, and showed the Hibbert Gate of the old West India Docks, with a sailing ship on top of the shield. A similar representation of the gate and ship formed the head of the civic mace. The shield on the left was the seal of Bow Vestry and this represented the bow-shaped bridge over the River Lea. The shield on the right was the seal of Bromley St Leonard Vestry, there remain a number of street signs which have been preserved with the name of the former borough. In 1880 the population had increased enough for the parish of All Saints Poplar to be divided into three wards, South, East and West. In 1885 the population had increased enough for the parish of Bromley St Leonard to also be divided into three wards, West, East and South, in 1894 the population had increased enough for the parish of St Mary Stratford Bow to be divided into four wards, No. In 1894 as its population had increased the parish of All Saints Poplar was re-divided into four wards, Cubitt Town, Millwall, Blackwall, municipal Year Book of the United Kingdom for 1907. Official Guide to the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar,1927 Poplar Town Hall on the Port Cities website
6.
George Lansbury
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George Lansbury, PC was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Originally a radical Liberal, Lansbury converted to socialism in the early 1890s and his activities were underpinned by his Christian beliefs which, except for a short period of doubt, sustained him through his life. Elected to parliament in 1910, he resigned his seat in 1912 to campaign for womens suffrage, in 1912 Lansbury helped to establish the Daily Herald newspaper, and became its editor. Throughout the First World War the paper maintained a strongly pacifist stance and these positions contributed to Lansburys failure to be elected to parliament in 1918. He devoted himself to politics in his home borough of Poplar. After his return to parliament in 1922, Lansbury was denied office in the brief Labour government of 1924, after the political and economic crisis of August 1931 Lansbury did not follow his leader, Ramsay MacDonald, into the National Government, but stayed with the Labour Party. As the most senior of the contingent of Labour MPs that survived the 1931 general election. He spent his final years travelling through the United States and Europe in the cause of peace, George Lansbury was born in Halesworth in the county of Suffolk on 22 February 1859. He was the third of nine born to a railway worker, also named George Lansbury. George seniors job involved the supervision of railway construction gangs, the family was often on the move, by the end of 1868 the family had moved into Londons East End, the district in which Lansbury would live and work for almost all his life. The essayist Ronald Blythe has described the East End of the 1860s and 1870s as stridently English, the smoke-blackened streets were packed with illiterate multitudes stayed alive through sheer birdlike ebullience. Interspersed with spells of work, Lansbury attended schools in Bethnal Green and he then held a succession of manual jobs, including work as a coaling contractor in partnership with his elder brother, James, loading and unloading coal wagons. This was heavy and dangerous work, and led to at least one near-fatal accident and he was present at the riots which erupted outside Gladstones house on 24 February 1878 after a peace meeting in Hyde Park. Shepherd writes that Gladstones Liberalism, proclaiming liberty, freedom and community interests was a mix that left an indelible mark on the youthful Lansbury. George Lansbury senior died in 1875 and that year young George met 14-year-old Elizabeth Brine, whose father Isaac Brine owned a local sawmill. The couple eventually married in 1880, at Whitechapel parish church, apart from a period of doubt in the 1890s when he temporarily rejected the Church, Lansbury remained a staunch Anglican until his death. In 1881 the first of Lansburys 12 children, Bessie, was born, another daughter, Annie, seeking to improve his familys prospects, Lansbury decided that their best hopes of prosperity lay in emigrating to Australia. On the outward passage the family experienced illness, discomfort and danger, on arrival at Brisbane in July 1884, Lansbury found that contrary to the London agents promises, there was a superfluity of labour and work was hard to find
7.
London County Council
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It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council. The LCC was the largest, most significant and most ambitious English municipal authority of its day, by the 19th century the City of London Corporation covered only a small fraction of metropolitan London. From 1855 the Metropolitan Board of Works had certain powers across the metropolis, many powers remained in the hands of traditional bodies such as parishes and the counties of Middlesex, Surrey and Kent. While the Conservative government of the day would have preferred not to create a body covering the whole of London. It was established as a council on 31 January 1889. Shortly after its creation a Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London considered the means for amalgamation with the City of London. The LCC inherited the powers of its predecessor the MBW, but had authority over matters such as education, city planning. It took over the functions of the London School Board in 1903, from 1899 the Council progressively acquired and operated the tramways in the county, which it electrified from 1903. One of the LCCs most important roles during the late 19th and early 20th century, was in the management of the expanding city, in the Victorian era, new housing had been intentionally urban and large-scale tenement buildings dominated. Beginning in the 1930s, the LCC incentivized an increase in suburban housing styles. The LCC set the standard for new construction at 12 houses per acre of land at a time when some London areas had as many as 80 housing units per acre. By 1938,76,877 units of housing had been built under the auspices of the LCC in the city and its periphery, many of these new housing developments were genuinely working-class, though the poorest could rarely afford even subsidized rents. They relied on an expanding London Underground network that ferried workers en masse to places of employment in the city center and these housing developments were broadly successful, and they resisted the slummification that blighted so many Victorian tenement developments. The LCC undertook between 1857 and 1929 to standardize and clarify street names across London, many streets in different areas of the city had similar or identical names, and the rise of the automobile as a primary mode of transportation in the city made these names unworkable. In an extreme case, there were more than 60 streets called Cross Street spread across the city when the LCC began its process of systematic renaming and these were given names from an approved list that was maintained by the LCC, containing only suitably English names. If street names were deemed un-English, they were slated for change, Zulu Crescent in Battersea, for instance. By 1939, the council had the powers and duties. The LCC initially used the Spring Gardens headquarters inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works, the building had been designed by Frederick Marrable, the MBWs supeintending architect, and dated from 1860
8.
Metropolitan Police
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As of March 2016, the Met employed 48,661 full-time personnel. This included 32,125 sworn police officers,9,521 police staff and this number excludes the 3,271 Special Constables, who work part-time and who have the same powers and uniform as their regular colleagues. This makes the Metropolitan Police the largest police force in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, the post of Commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne. The post is occupied by the now-outgoing Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. The Commissioners deputy, the Deputy Commissioner, is currently Craig Mackey, a number of informal names and abbreviations exists for the Metropolitan Police Service, the most common being the Met. In colloquial London, it is referred to as the Old Bill. The Met is also referred to by the metonym Scotland Yard after the location of its headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The Mets current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, in Victoria, the Metropolitan Police Service, whose officers became affectionately known as bobbies, was founded in 1829 by Robert Peel under the Metropolitan Police Act 1829. In 1839, the Marine Police Force, which had formed in 1798, was amalgamated into the Metropolitan Police. In 1837, it also incorporated with the Bow Street Horse Patrol that had organised in 1805. Since January 2012, the Mayor of London is responsible for the governance of the Metropolitan Police through the Mayors Office for Policing, the mayor is able to appoint someone to act on his behalf, the current office-holder is Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden. The work of MOPAC is scrutinised by the Police and Crime Committee of the London Assembly, the area policed by the Metropolitan Police Service is known as the Metropolitan Police District. In terms of policing, the Met is divided into a number of Borough Operational Command Units. The City of London is a police area and is the responsibility of the separate City of London Police. The British Transport Police are responsible for policing of the network in the United Kingdom. Within London, they are responsible for the policing of the London Underground, Tramlink, The Emirates Air Line. There is also a park police force, the Kew Constabulary, responsible for the Royal Botanic Gardens. Officers also have limited powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, within the MPD, the Met will take over the investigation of any serious crime from the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police, if it is deemed appropriate
9.
Metropolitan Water Board (London)
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The Metropolitan Water Board was founded in 1903 to bring the nine private water companies supplying water to London under a single public body. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. A Royal Commission had reported in 1899 on the need for such controls, the board was abolished in 1974 and control transferred to the Thames Water Authority, now Thames Water. Water supply in the London area was regulated by local acts, through amalgamation, by 1830 there were six companies supplying water north of the Thames, and four to the south of the river. Following complaints, a Royal commission was set up in 1827 to investigate the quality of supply, the commission found that the water was of poor quality and cleanliness, and was in need of improvement. A select committee endorsed this view in 1828 and recommended that a scheme should be devised by Thomas Telford, a further Royal commission reported in 1869 and recommended that the supply should be taken into public management. The Metropolis Water Act 1871 introduced further regulation, but fell short of taking the supply into public control, in the meantime the corporations of major provincial towns such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds began operating their own municipal supplies. It was therefore decided that the Metropolitan Water Bill would create a new body to supply water to the greater London area. The board was created by The Metropolis Water Act 1902, the board as originally constituted in the Act had 67 members,65 of these were nominated by local authorities, who appointed a paid chairman and vice-chairman. In Essex, -1 member nominated by Essex County Council,1 member by West Ham County Borough and 4 members nominated by 9 Urban District Councils, in Kent, -1 member nominated by Kent County Council, and 1 member jointly nominated by 8 Urban District Councils. In Middlesex, -1 member nominated by Middlesex County Council, in Surrey,1 member nominated by the Surrey County Council, and one nominated jointly by the Borough of Richmond and 7 Urban District Councils. In Hertfordshire, -1 member nominated by Hertfordshire County Council,1 member of the Conservators of the River Thames. 1 member of the Lee Conservancy Board, the first Metropolitan Water Board retired on 1 June 1907, with a new board being nominated every three years thereafter. As local government changes took place, the nominating bodies changed, the limits were to be the same as the area supplied by the various undertakings acquired with the addition of the parishes of Sunbury, Middlesex and Chessington, Surrey. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica described Water London as an area extending from Ware in Hertfordshire to Sevenoaks in Kent. The term of office of members of the Board was three years, the chairman and vice-chairman were elected by the Board on an annual basis. The various public water boards and local authority water undertakings in England, ten large Water Authorities were established based on river basins and catchment areas. Water Supply in Enfield a history Metropolitan Water Board Railway Thames Water Londons Water Supply 1903-1953, a Review of the Work of the Metropolitan Water Board
10.
Poor relief
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Classifications of poor used in the Poor Law system classified people into categories for those considered deserving of poor relief and those who were not considered deserving of poor relief. The impotent poor could not look after themselves or go to work and they included the ill, the infirm, the elderly, and children with no one to properly care for them. It was generally held that they should be looked after, the able-bodied poor normally referred to those who were unable to find work – either due to cyclical or long term unemployment in the area, or a lack of skills. Attempts to assist these people, and move out of this category, varied over the centuries. The idle poor were of able body but were unwilling to work and they were not considered deserving of poor relief. Vagrants or beggars, sometimes termed sturdy rogues, were those who could work but had refused to, such people were seen in the 16th and 17th centuries as potential criminals, apt to do mischief when hired for the purpose. They were normally seen as people needing punishment, and as such were often whipped in the place as an example to others
11.
HM Prison Holloway
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HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by Her Majestys Prison Service. It was the largest womens prison in western Europe until its closure in 2016, Holloway prison was opened in 1852 as a mixed-sex prison, but due to growing demand for space for female prisoners, particularly due to the closure of Newgate, it became female-only in 1903. Holloway was used to imprison suffragettes including Constance Markievicz Charlotte Despard, Mary Richardson, Dora Montefiore, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, in 2016, after the suspicious death of inmate Sarah Reed, her family claimed that the prison had forbidden them to examine the body. Holloway Prison was completely rebuilt between 1971 and 1985 on the same site, Holloway Prison held female adults and young offenders remanded or sentenced by the local courts. Accommodation at the prison was mostly single cells, however, there was also some dormitory accommodation, Holloway Prison offered both full-time and part-time education to inmates, with courses including skills training workshops, British Industrial Cleaning Science, gardening, and painting. There was a visitors centre, run by the Prison Advice and Care Trust. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced in his Autumn Statement on 25 November 2015 that the prison would close and it closed in July 2016, with prisoners being moved to HMP Downview and HMP Bronzefield. For decades, British campaigners had argued for votes for women and it was only when a number of suffragists, despairing of change through peaceful means, decided to turn to militant protest that the suffragette was born. These women broke the law in pursuit of their aims, and many were imprisoned at Holloway, in protest, some went on hunger strike and were force fed, so Holloway has a large symbolic role in the history of womens rights in the UK. Suffragettes imprisoned there include Anne Miller Fraser, Constance Markievicz, Charlotte Despard, Mary Richardson, Dora Montefiore, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, in 1912 the anthem of the suffragettes - The March of the Women, composed by Ethel Smyth with lyrics by Cicely Hamilton - was performed there. Holloway held Diana Mitford under Defence Regulation 18B during World War II, the couple lived together in a cottage in the prison grounds. In 1971 the prison underwent a programme of rebuilding, during which the remains of all the executed women were exhumed. With the exception of Ruth Ellis, the remains of the four women were subsequently reburied in a single grave at Brookwood Cemetery near Woking. Noteworthy inmates that were held at the original 1852-era prison include William Thomas Stead, Isabella Glyn, digby Hardy, Christabel Pankhurst, Kitty Byron and Lady Ida Sitwell, wife of Sir George Sitwell. Other inmates included Amie Bartholomew, Emma Last, Matthew Etherington, Alison Walder, Jayne Richards, in October 1999, it was announced that healthcare campaigner and agony aunt Claire Rayner had been called in to advise on an improved healthcare provision at Holloway Prison. Rayners appointment was announced after the introduction of measures at the prisons healthcare unit after various failures. In September 2001, a report from Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Prisons claimed that Holloway Prison was failing many of its inmates. However, the stated that the prison had improved in a number of areas
12.
HM Prison Brixton
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HM Prison Brixton is a local mens prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by Her Majestys Prison Service, the prison was originally built in 1820 and opened as the Surrey House of Correction, Brixton Prison was intended to house 175 prisoners. There is an illustration of prisoners on the 1821 treadmill used to mill corn in Surrey House of Correction, female inmates were allowed over time to earn privileges, which included limited conversation, payment for labor, the right to receive letters and visitation rights. Brixton eventually became a prison from 1882 until 1898 and remained a trial-and-remand prison for London. The footings for the treadmill remain and are visible and the former hanging i. e. execution suite is now an enlarged cell with six beds, on 7 July 1991 two Provisional IRA prisoners, Pearse McAuley and Nessan Quinlivan, escaped from the prison by subduing a guard. They managed to scale the walls, hijack the car of a member of the public before reaching the Baker Street Underground station. They managed to flee to the Republic of Ireland, in October 1999, Prisons Minister, Paul Boateng had to make an emergency visit to Brixton Prison after a spate of multiple suicide attempts by inmates being held in the medical wards of the jail. The minister subsequently promised more nurses and staff for the healthcare unit. A month later, Boateng threatened to privatise Brixton Prison if improvements were not made by management to the regime, the Governor was removed the same day, only to be reappointed to run HM Prison Downview a few weeks later. In August 2000, prison officers from all over the UK staged a strike after the government released proposals confirming intentions to privatise Brixton Prison. The privatisation plans were dropped, and Brixton Prison has remained in the public sector. In January 2001, a report from Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Prisons severely criticised conditions at Brixton Prison. The report claimed that staff had falsified records and tried to sabotage the inspection, standards of healthcare and race relations within the prison were also criticised. In June 2004, an inspection report praised Brixton Prison for improving standards. The report highlighted the prisons good staff-prisoner relations and improved support for new prisoners, however, inspectors highlighted overcrowding as a major issue that was hampering further improvements at the jail. Another inspection report in July 2006 stated that poor facilities were holding back improvements being made to Brixton Prison, the prisons kitchens, healthcare and sports facilities were highlighted as being particularly inadequate. In October 2008, the Chief Inspector of Prisons warned that many inmates held at Brixton Prison were taking drugs, the inspector also claimed that the prison was infested with vermin. A further inspection was carried out in 2014, the report stated that conditions had improved although there were still concerns regarding levels of violence, incidents of self-harm, overcrowding and offender management
13.
Mark Francis (artist)
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Mark Francis is a Northern Irish painter living and working in London, England. Francis has exhibited both individually and in group exhibitions. As an emerging artist in 1995, Francis was involved in The Adventure of Painting at Kunstverein Düsseldorf/Stuttgart, Germany, by the year 2000, Francis was invited to exhibit an early career overview Elements at Milton Keynes Gallery. Over the last thirty years, Francis work has had an association with science. Throughout his career his paintings have continually been informed by the shapes, patterns. Francis is often characterised by his painting technique and his continuous use of grid formations that are present within his paintings. Francis explores the notion of chaos and order through the idea of mapping and how seemingly chaotic and random formations can have a larger, almost incomprehensible working logic. He has moved his research from micro to macro with particular interest in astronomical formations using the process and concept of mapping to combine, connect, mark, relate and explore. Francis work is collected by institutions and organisations that include the Irish Museum of Modern Art
14.
Poll tax (Great Britain)
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The Community Charge was a system of taxation introduced in replacement of domestic rates in Scotland from 1989, prior to its introduction in England and Wales from 1990. It provided for a single flat-rate per-capita tax on every adult, the charge was replaced by Council Tax in 1993, two years after its abolition was announced. This Green Paper considered a flat-rate per-capita tax as a supplement to another tax, the commitment to abolish the rates was replaced in the 1983 general election manifesto with a commitment to introduce the ability for central government to cap rates which it saw as excessive. This was introduced by the Rates Act 1984, although the ratings system was supposed to have regular revaluations in order to minimise discrepancies, the revaluations in England and Wales had been cancelled in 1978 and 1983. The Scottish revaluation of 1985/1986 led to a deal of criticism. This was a tax per adult resident, hence the term poll tax. This charged each person for the provided in their community. This proposal was contained in the Conservative manifesto for the 1987 General Election, the poll tax when implemented encountered a number of administrative and enforcement difficulties. Some renters did not pay, knowing they would have left Scotland when the bills arrived, councils of towns with highly mobile populations, such as university towns, were faced with big store rooms of un-processed gone-aways. The initial register, which was based on the register for owned houses. The big collection issue was the 20%/100% split, people in employment had to pay 100%, students and the registered unemployed paid 20%. The nature of the house market meant that not even the landlord knew exactly who was living there, tenants were replaced. So the local council had no idea who was living where, councils were burdened with the task of pursuing the large numbers of defaulters, many of whom were acting as part of organised resistance to the charge. There is also evidence that the poll tax had a lasting effect of people not registering themselves on the electoral register to evade collection attempts. The change from payment based on the worth of ones house to a tax was widely criticized as being unfair. In Scotland, where the tax was implemented first, the APTUs called for mass non payment, as the tax neared its implementation in England, protests against the tax began to increase as unrest mounted. This culminated in a number of Poll Tax Riots, the most serious of these was on 31 March 1990 – a week before the implementation of the tax – when between 70,000 and 200, 000-strong demonstrated against the tax. The demonstration around Trafalgar Square left 113 people injured and 340 under arrest, there were further conflicts, but none so large as this
15.
Richard Coeur de Lion (statue)
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Richard Coeur de Lion is a Grade II listed equestrian statue of the 12th-century English monarch Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, who reigned from 1189–99. It stands on a pedestal in Old Palace Yard outside the Palace of Westminster. The statue was first produced in clay and displayed at The Great Exhibition in 1851, although the money was duly raised and the bronze cast of the statue was finally completed in 1856, a lengthy dispute delayed its installation for several years. The original idea had been to erect the statue as a memorial to the Great Exhibition and this prompted opposition, as did proposals to place it outside Charles Barrys newly completed Palace of Westminster. Various other locations to display the statue were initially considered before agreement was reached that it would be placed in Old Palace Yard, Marochettis preferred location. It was installed in October 1860, though it was not until March 1867 that it was completed with the addition of bronze bas-reliefs on either side of the pedestal. It narrowly escaped destruction during the Second World War when a German bomb dropped during the Blitz landed a few metres away, the pedestal and the horses tail were damaged and Richards sword was bent by the blast. In 2009, the Parliamentary authorities undertook a project to conserve, the statue was created by Baron Carlo Marochetti and is located in Old Palace Yard outside the Palace of Westminster, opposite Westminster Abbey in London. With its pedestal, it stands 9 metres high, showing King Richard I on horseback, the king is depicted wearing a crowned helmet and a chainmail shirt with a surcoat, and lifting a sword into the air. The horse paws the ground, as if preparing for a charge into battle, Marochetti described his work as being inspired by Richard I rather than accurately depicting a 12th-century knight. It stands on a granite pedestal designed by Marochetti and made by Freeman & Co. of Penryn. According to Marochetti, the two bas-reliefs were designed in the style of Lorenzo Ghibertis doors at the Florence Baptistry, bronze letters on the front of the pedestal bear the inscription RICHARD I CŒUR DE LION / 1189–1199. The great majority of the art in and around the Houses of Parliament is of British origin, Marochettis statue thus represents one of the few examples of a non-British artists work being selected for the Parliamentary estate. Marochetti was born in Italy and was ennobled by the Kingdom of Sardinia but lived and worked in France and he made his name by creating equestrian statues, one, of the Duke of Wellington, was erected in Glasgow in 1840. By the 1840s, however, his popularity in continental Europe was in decline, the French Revolution of 1848, which saw the final overthrow of the French monarchy, prompted him to resettle in London and seek new patrons among the British elite. It was certainly true that he benefited from the patronage of Queen Victoria and his courtly manners impressed Victoria on their first meeting in 1849, and soon afterwards he became involved with the Prince Consorts plans for what became The Great Exhibition of 1851. Several countries planned to display sculptures of historical figures in their contributions to the exhibition. The genre was common in mainland Europe but relatively rare in England at the time, the Italian sculptor was probably motivated by a sense of competition with the Belgian in designing his Richard I
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Equestrian statue of Charles I, Charing Cross
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The equestrian statue of Charles I in Charing Cross, London, is a work by the French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur, probably cast in 1633. Its location at Charing Cross is on the site of the most elaborate of the Eleanor crosses erected by Edward I. Charing Cross is used to define the centre of London and a plaque by the statue indicates that road signage distances are measured from this point, the statue faces down Whitehall towards Charles Is place of execution at Banqueting House. The first Renaissance-style equestrian statue in England, it was commissioned by Charless Lord High Treasurer Richard Weston for the garden of his house in Roehampton. Following the English Civil War the statue was sold to a metalsmith to be broken down and it was installed in its current, far more prominent location in the centre of London in 1675, and the elaborately carved plinth dates from that time. The statue shows Charles I of England on horseback, with the wearing a demi-suit of armour. Across the chest is a scarf tied into a bow on the right shoulder, the king is holding a baton in his right hand, and the reins of the horse in his left. The statue was commissioned by Weston in January 1630, the contract, in French with an English translation, is thought to have been drafted by the architect Balthazar Gerbier, who was then building Putney Park, Westons country house in Roehampton. The statue was to be finished in 18 months but its execution was delayed, after the Parliamentary victory in the English Civil War the statue was sold to a metalsmith in the Holborn area by the name of John Rivet. Rivet received instructions from Parliament to break down the statue, but instead he hid it on his premises and it was purchased by the King and in 1675 was placed in its current location. The pedestal itself is made of Portland stone with a coat of arms, the work was completed by Joshua Marshall. On 28 October 1844, during the visit of Queen Victoria to open the Royal Exchange, the sword, during the Second World War the statue was removed by the Ministry of Works for protection, and was stored at Mentmore Park, Leighton Buzzard. Before being returned to its plinth in Whitehall, the Ministry carried out repairs on the statue, including adding a replacement sword. Additionally, a tablet was added to the base of the plinth. In 1977, the plinth was cleaned for the first time in three centuries, the work was conducted by the Department of the Environment and the department of conservation at the Victoria and Albert Museum. As I was going by Charing Cross Bibliography Ward-Jackson, Philip, public Sculpture of Historic Westminster, Volume 1. Media related to Equestrian statue of Charles I, Charing Cross at Wikimedia Commons
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Statue of Charles II, Soho Square
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The statue of Charles II is an outdoor sculpture of Charles II of England by the Danish sculptor Caius Gabriel Cibber, located near the centre of Soho Square in London. The statue was once the centrepiece of an erected in the middle of the square in 1681, each corner of which had statues of river gods representing the Thames, Severn, Humber. The water, which was pumped by a windmill in nearby Rathbone Place and it appears to have been one of a number of works by Cibber that stood in the square. By the early 19th century, the statue was described as being in a most wretched and mutilated state, in 1875–6 the square underwent substantial changes to its layout, during which the badly deteriorated statue was removed and the fountain demolished. The statue was rescued by Thomas Blackwell of the condiment firm Crosse & Blackwell and he gave it to his friend, the artist Frederick Goodall, with the intention that it might be restored. The present half-timbered gardeners shed took the place at the centre of the square. Goodall installed the statue on an island in a lake at Grims Dyke, his house near Harrow Weald, he wrote that in the twilight it looks very mysterious and weird with its reflection in the water. The statue portrays Charles in a pose, left hand on hip, with his head turned to the right. He is shown wearing some body and thigh armour and a long cloak at the back. The low pedestal once had an inscription on it, but this became illegible as long ago as 1815, as the square was once called Monmouth Square, some people erroneously supposed the statue to represent Charles favoured illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth. By the 1920s it was described as black with age, the pedestals decorative carvings comprise a crown in relief surmounting scroll motifs on the front and rear, with each side depicting a crown surmounting crossed sceptres and a decorative riband. Both the statue and pedestal are in poor condition and are eroded, especially around the face. The baton once held in the hand has disappeared. The statue is used as a major plot device/character in Patrick Marbers 2017 production of Don Juan in Soho starring David Tennant
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Statue of James II, Trafalgar Square
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The statue of James II is an outdoor bronze sculpture located in the front garden of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom. Probably inspired by French statues of the period, it depicts James II of England as a Roman emperor, wearing Roman armour. It originally also depicted him holding a baton and it was produced by the workshop of Grinling Gibbons, though probably not by Gibbons himself. The statue has been relocated several times since it was first erected in the grounds of the old Palace of Whitehall in 1686, the statue is executed in bronze and depicts James II as a Roman emperor. He is shown standing in a pose and pointing downwards in great ease of attitude. It formerly held a baton in its hand, though this is now missing. The face is said to be an excellent depiction of the king, the statue was probably inspired by similar imperial portrayals of Louis XIV of France. The statue of James II was commissioned for the Palace of Whitehall, apparently at the time as the standing Charles II. It was produced in the workshop of Grinling Gibbons at a reported cost of £300, the James II was erected at the Palace of Whitehall on 24 March 1686, as recorded by a contemporary, Sir John Bramston the Younger. George Vertue, who found an agreement and a receipt of payment for the work, & Devoot who was imployed by. Gibbons, and that Thomas Benniere was involved in the casting, a series of five drawings in the British Museum, which might be for either the standing Charles II or the James II, is attributed variously to Gibbons or to Peter Van Dievoet. Its artistic qualities were praised by J. P. Malcolm in his 1803 history, London Redivivum, in which he wrote, There is but one fault in the figure, and that is the attitude. The King seems to point with a baton at the earth, to which his eyes are directed, surely this is an egregious error. James IIs statue has stood in several locations since it was first erected and it originally stood in the Palace of Whitehalls Pebble Court, where it was installed on New Years Day,1686. It was taken down after the Glorious Revolution but was replaced by order of William III, in 1898 it was moved to a location in the garden of Gwydyr House but was taken down four years later to make room for the stands for the coronation of Edward VII. During the Second World War it was put into storage at Aldwych tube station and it was relocated to its present site in 1947. The statue is listed by Historic England as a Grade I listed building,1686 in art Statue of James II – Trafalgar Square, London, UK at Waymarking. com
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Statue of Queen Anne, Queen Anne's Gate
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A Grade I-listed statue of Queen Anne stands on a pedestal alongside the north wall of No.15 Queen Annes Gate in Westminster, London. It portrays the queen wearing a skirt and bodice and an open cloak with the insignia of the Order of the Garter, on her head is a small crown and in her hands she holds an orb. The statue, carved from Portland stone, stands on a plinth of the material with the inscription ANNA REGINA. The pedestal consists of a fat engaged cylinder with a volute on either side, each with scrolls adorned with carved flowers. Neither the sculptors identity nor the date of the work are known. The statue is first mentioned in Edward Hattons A New View of London as being erected in full proportion on a pedestal at the E. End of Q. An engraved map of 1710 depicts the statue of Queen Anne in the middle of the wall, at some point in the early 19th century the statue was moved to a new position in the square. The Gentlemans Magazine reported in 1814 that the statue until of late occupied a conspicuous situation on the East end of the square, by 1862, the statue had lost its nose and right arm. The Earl of Caernarvon and other local residents pressed the Office of Works to repair it and his request received a favourable response from the First Commissioner of Works, William Cowper. The sculptor John Thomas was hired to repair it and he based the face on a squeeze of Francis Birds statue of Queen Anne outside St Pauls Cathedral. The right arm was replaced with a substitute and a replacement bronze sceptre was also installed. The statues poor condition was due in part to the local childrens mistaken belief that the statue represented the ill-reputed Queen Mary. They would ask Bloody Queen Mary to come down from her pedestal, Cowper recommended in 1862 that if the name of Queen Anne be written in legible characters on the pedestal, their puerile outrage will not be repeated. The inscription was added by John Thomas as part of his restoration work. Nonetheless the vandalism continued, and it was not until a generation later that the complaints ceased, another legend concerning the statue holds that on 1 August, the anniversary of Queen Annes death, the statue climbs down and walks three times up and down the street. The dividing wall between the two streets was demolished in 1873 to form the present Queen Annes Square, and at time the statue was removed to its present position. It became the subject of a dispute over ownership, as it was not brought into the care of the Office of Works when the Public Statues Act 1854 was enacted. The owner of 15 Queen Annes Gate permitted the Office of Works to carry out repairs in 1862 but objected to its removal, in 1938, the houses then owner, E. Thornton Smith, carried out repairs at his own expense
20.
Statue of George III, Somerset House
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The sculptor was John Bacon, and the statue was erected between 1778 and 1789. George III is dressed in Roman apparel, leaning on a rudder, flanked by the prow of a Roman boat, father Thames is reclining on a lower, semi-circular plinth, one hand on an urn with a cornucopia behind him. When Queen Charlotte first saw the statue of her husband she asked the sculptor Why did you make so frightful a figure, Bacon bowed and replied Art cannot always effect what is ever within the reach of Nature – the union of beauty and majesty. Media related to Statue of George III, Somerset House, London at Wikimedia Commons
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Equestrian statue of George IV, Trafalgar Square
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The statue of George IV in Trafalgar Square, London, is a bronze equestrian statue by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey. It depicts the King dressed in ancient Roman attire and riding bareback, the sculpture was originally designed to sit on top of the Marble Arch at the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was placed in its current location following the Kings death. Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey originally designed the statue to stand on top of Marble Arch in its position as the entrance to Buckingham Palace. Edward Blore took over the work, and his redesign to reduce costs removed the Chantrey statue, chantreys work was funded by George IV himself, rather than by public subscription. The statue was cast in 1828, George IV died in 1830, and the statue was placed on an empty plinth in Trafalgar Square in December 1843, which was expected to be on a temporary basis, however it has remained there ever since. It was unveiled to little ceremony, with The Times describing it as somewhat suddenly erected and it was the first statue erected on one of the pedestals, which were installed three years earlier with architect Charles Barry expecting them to be filled by groups of statues. An inscription was added towards the end of the 19th century as the public were no longer aware of whom it was a statue, media related to Equestrian statue of George IV, Trafalgar Square, London at Wikimedia Commons
22.
Statue of George V, Westminster
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The statue of George V in Old Palace Yard, Westminster, London, is a sculpture of George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India. The statue was sculpted prior to the Second World War and was hidden in a quarry during the war years, other locations were suggested for the statue, including Parliament Square, but it was unveiled opposite the House of Lords in 1947. The statue stands 10 feet high and is made of Portland stone and it is located south of The Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey and opposite the House of Lords. It is a Grade II listed building, having become so on 5 February 1970, a location in Abingdon Street opposite the House of Lords was announced in October 1937. The construction was organised by the King George V National Memorial Committee, the original design proved controversial and resulted in some criticism, it was to feature an ornate Gothic canopy which critics described as dwarfing the statue itself. Following a public consultation this feature was removed from later designs, a model of the statue was exhibited in the Members tea room of the House of Commons. The Royal Fine Art Commission suggested that the statue should be located in Parliament Square instead of opposite the House of Lords. The construction of the statue took place on Portland prior to the Second World War, following the war it was moved to the Tate Gallery while the statues site was prepared for it. The statue was placed in the original proposed spot opposite the House of Lords and it was unveiled by King George VI, on 22 October 1947 and was attended by Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. In 1968, the symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was drawn on the side of the plinth, British Pathe footage of the unveiling of the statue
23.
Robert Burns (Steell)
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Robert Burns is a bronze portrait statue of Robert Burns by John Steell. Four versions exist, in New York City, Dundee, London, the memorial sculpture in Manhattans Central Park was cast ca.1880 and dedicated on October 2,1880. It was the first statue of Burns to be erected outside Scotland and was a gift to the City of New York from Saint Andrews Society of the State of New York, for this sculpture Steell closely followed the portrait of Burns painted by Alexander Nasmyth in 1787. Seated on a stump with a quill pen in one hand. He is thinking of his true love Mary Campbell, who died at an early age and it was to her that he had written the poem To Mary in Heaven inscribed on the scroll at his feet. The Dundee statue was unveiled only two weeks after the one in New York in 1880 and the third cast was erected on the Thames Embankment in London in 1884, the Dunedin statue was the last of the set to be unveiled on 24 May 1887. A statue of Burns was deemed relevant to the city, both because of the citys Scottish roots, and also one of the citys founding fathers was Rev. Thomas Burns. In likeness, it is closest to the London statue, there had been discussion whether to place the statue in front of the railway station, but an elevated placement in The Octagon, the central plaza of Dunedin, was eventually chosen. The statue was unveiled by Miss Burns, a niece of Robert Burns. Speeches were given by former Governor and Premier of New Zealand Sir George Grey, and Richard Henry Leary, because of its placement on what is now known as the McMillan terrace, the statue is the backdrop to many public speeches. On 27 July 1988, the statue was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage structure with reference number 2208. The statue is located at 45°52′26. 5″S 170°30′11. 5″E List of Robert Burns memorials List of sculptures in Central Park Media related to Robert Burns by John Steell at Wikimedia Commons
24.
Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London
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The statue of Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square, London, is a work of 1979 by the sculptor John Doubleday. It portrays the actor, comedian and filmmaker in his best-known role, a memorial to Chaplin in the city of his birth was proposed on 25 December 1977, soon after Chaplins death, by Illtyd Harrington, the leader of the opposition in the Greater London Council. The bronze statue was first unveiled on 16 April 1981 at its site, on the south-western corner of the square. An inscription on the plinth read THE COMIC GENIUS/ WHO GAVE PLEASURE/ TO SO MANY, the following year a slightly modified version was erected in the Swiss town of Vevey, which had been Chaplins home from 1952 until his death. Following a refurbishment of Leicester Square in 1989–92, the statue was moved to a north of the statue of William Shakespeare. In a later refurbishment of 2010–12 Chaplins statue was removed altogether, together with busts of William Hogarth, John Hunter, Sir Isaac Newton, the statue was installed in a nearby street, Leicester Place, in 2013. This was in order to prevent damage to the sculpture during improvement works, in 2016 it returned to Leicester Square and was re-unveiled on Chaplins birthday. Media related to Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London at Wikimedia Commons
25.
Statue of Winston Churchill, Parliament Square
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The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London, is a bronze sculpture of the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, created by Ivor Roberts-Jones. It is located on a spot referred to in the 1950s by Churchill as where my statue will go. Unveiled by his widow Lady Clementine Spencer-Churchill in 1973, the unveiling was attended by the serving Prime Minister and four former Prime Ministers, the statue is one of eight on the central green of Parliament Square, all of well-known statesmen. The statue is 12 feet high and is made of bronze and it was sculpted by Ivor Roberts-Jones and is located on the main green of Parliament Square, opposite the Palace of Westminster. It shows Winston Churchill standing with his hand resting on his walking stick, the plinth is 8 feet high with Churchill inscribed on it in large capital letters. A proposal to insert pins standing out of the head was turned down in the 1970s – the pins were intended to stop wild birds from sitting on its head. The Churchill Statue Committee had concerns during the development process that it looked a little too much like the Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Whilst the head was only cast in plaster, a report on it stated that, At the moment the head is undoubtedly like Churchill. The cheeks, the eyes, the forehead and the top of the head require improvement, I told Mr. Roberts-Jones that above the eyes I thought I was looking at Mussolini. Roberts-Jones agreed to modify the sculpture to reduce the dome of the head in order to lower the forehead, in the 1950s, David Eccles, then Minister of Works, showed Churchill plans for the redevelopment of Parliament Square. Churchill drew a circle in the north-east corner and declared, That is where my statue will go, the statue that was eventually installed was first suggested by John Tilney, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree, in a parliamentary question in 1968. Initial estimates by the sponsors of the Winston Churchill Statue Appeal put the cost of the statue at £30,000, the sponsors of the appeal included Edward Heath, Lord Mountbatten, Lord Portal, and Baroness Elliot. The sum of £32,000 was raised by 4,500 individuals who are listed in a book which was deposited in the library at Chartwell on Churchills birthday,30 November 1973. The statue was unveiled on 1 November 1973 by Clementine, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, union Flags covered the statue, which were removed as a cord was pulled. Others present at the unveiling included The Queen Mother, members of the Churchill family across four generations, Edward Heath, the Band of the Royal Marines played several of Churchills favourite pieces of music. The statue has been defaced on a number of occasions during protests held in Parliament Square, during the 2010 student protests the statue was defaced with graffiti and urinated on. An electric current is passed through the statue to deter pigeons, in 2008, the statue was grade II listed. A replica of the Parliament Square Statue was unveiled in 1999 in Winston Churchill Square in Prague, Czech Republic and it was moulded from the original on site, then cast in bronze
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Statue of Robert Clive, London
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A Grade II-listed bronze statue of Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, by John Tweed, is located in King Charles Street, Whitehall, London. The statue was unveiled in 1912 outside Gwydyr House, also in Whitehall, on the west face of the plinth are Clives surname and the year of his birth and death. The remaining three sides have bronze reliefs depicting events in his life, the Siege of Arcot in 1751, the eve of the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the fund raised between £5,000 and £6,000 to erect memorials to Clive in London and India. John Tweed was commissioned to work on the London statue. A smaller version of the statue, also cast in bronze, is now part of the collection of the Tate in London. Bali Bombings Memorial, London, located nearby Media related to Statue of Clive of India, London at Wikimedia Commons
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Statue of Oliver Cromwell, Westminster
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A statue of Oliver Cromwell stands outside the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in Westminster, London. It is a sculpture of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, the statue was designed by Hamo Thornycroft and erected in 1899. It has divided opinion, both before its erection and since, due to Cromwells opposition to the British monarchy and his role in the conquest of Ireland, Cromwell stands accused by some of war crimes, religious persecution and ethnic cleansing on a dramatic scale against Catholics in Ireland. The statue is one of four statues of Cromwell in the United Kingdom and is Grade II listed for its architectural merit. The statue was sculpted by Hamo Thornycroft, and features Cromwell standing holding a sword, the bible is marked Holy Bible 1641, and while the main statue of Cromwell is marked Hamo Thornycroft 1897, the lion on the base is marked 1899. It was raised several times over the following years by supporters of a statue. The decision was condemned by newspapers in Ireland, following further opposition from the Irish National Party, the proposal was withdrawn on 17 July 1895. Herbert Gladstone, First Commissioner of Works, approved the statue with the coming from an anonymous private donor. In 1899 his successor Aretas Akers-Douglas confirmed the proposed location as the sunken garden next to Westminster Hall. The statue was unveiled on 31 October 1899, followed by a speech on Cromwell by former Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, in 2004, a group of Members of Parliament including Tony Banks proposed a motion that the statue should be removed and melted down. The move was not supported, and other MPs suggested that the statue should be moved somewhere else, restoration work took place in August 2008, removing dirt and a coat of black wax which had been previously applied to the bronzework. This changed the colour of the statue from black to a natural brown. It was coated in a clear wax in order to ensure that the natural finish remained, the conservation work was completed in time for the 350th anniversary of Cromwells death on 3 September 2008. Statue of Oliver Cromwell, St Ives Statue of Oliver Cromwell, Warrington Media related to Statue of Oliver Cromwell, London at Wikimedia Commons
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Statue of Sigmund Freud, Hampstead
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Freud lived at nearby 20 Maresfield Gardens, for the last months of his life. His house is now the Freud Museum, the sculptor Oscar Nemon was born and educated in Osijek before moving to work in Vienna in the 1920s. He had read Freud in his teens, initially approached Freud as a sculptor and was rejected by him. After Nemon had gained his reputation in Brussels, he was approached by Freuds assistant Paul Federn in 1931 to sculpt Freud for his 75th birthday, Nemon finished busts of Freud in wood, bronze and plaster, and Freud chose to keep the wooden portrait for himself. The wooden bust is on display at the Freud Museum in Hampstead, Nemon visited Freud for a final time in London in 1938. His last sittings with Freud would create a. harsher more abstracted portrait which would become the head for the bronze in Hampstead. On seeing the head of Freud, his housekeeper Paula Fichtl said that Nemon had made Freud look too angry, the bronze, slightly larger than life size, was commissioned in the 1960s, with funds raised by a committee chaired by Donald Winnicott. The sculpture depicts Freud with his turn to one side as if in thought. Freuds daughter, Anna Freud, attended the unveiling of the statue in October 1970, the statue was originally located in an alcove behind Swiss Cottage Library, where it was virtually hidden away from the public. The Freud Museum arranged for the statue to be moved to its present location in 1998 and it became a Grade II listed building in January 2016. Media related to Statue of Sigmund Freud, London at Wikimedia Commons
