Representing Boadicea (or Boudica or Boudicca or any other manner of spellings), the queen of a British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the Romans in AD 60-61, this sculpture can be found by Westminster Bridge opposite Big Ben. It was created by Thomas Thornycroft with help from his son William and was commissioned in the 1850s but not completed until 1898, over ten years after the sculptor had died. It was installed at the bridge in 1902.
The gardens at Canons Ashby present a lovely first impression of the estate. Edward Dryden, beginning in 1908, was largely responsible for the development of the gardens as it looks today. He wanted to create an organised landscape of geometric shapes.
This lovely statue was created by Pieter d’Hont and was placed here next to the Singel Canal in 1996. She’s apparently inspired by someone the artist knew and he’d made several copies by the time this one was part of a sculpture route around the city and then later moved to its present location.
This statue, known as both “My Children” and “Two Pupils”, represents children from the Royal Military Asylum that was based at the Duke Of York’s Square, London. It’s full title was the Royal Military Asylum for the Children of Soldiers of the Regular Army and mostly educated children who were orphans or who had fathers serving overseas.
I’ve walked by the Garden Museum a few times whilst in London and when I found myself with an afternoon free I decided it was the perfect time to visit. I was largely prompted by their temporary exhibit at the time – on until 19 June – called Wild & Cultivated: Fashioning the Rose.
Unveiled in 2007 this statue, made of Portland stone, is of Sir Hans Sloane, a doctor, naturalist and collector who left his collection of 71,000 items to the nation. These were the beginnings of the British Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Whilst visiting the V&A Museum I came across this sculpture on the opposite side of the street. It is a memorial to those killed after being forcibly repatriated by the Allies to the then Soviet Union at the conclusion of the Second World War.
A few weeks ago I decided to head out to Gedling Country Park which I haven’t been to for a while. The weather was sunny though quite windy and since I had walked there and back I just spent a little time walking around some of the smaller routes and enjoying the views.
Thomas More, advisor to Henry VIII who would eventually have him beheaded at the Tower of London, moved to Chelsea in around 1520. The house he built there no longer exists but the statue is near Chelsea Old Church where he regularly worshipped.
This impressive building is named for its architect Karel de Bazel, designed in the Brick Expressionism style and was built between 1919 and 1926. It is ten stories high and 100 metres wide.
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