A warrior queen, a deposed king, a fictional bear and Dr Johnson’s cat – just a few of the most famous statues in London
For such a monumental city, London can also be wonderfully intimate – and this is reflected in the many famous statues in London that you’ll see when you visit.
It’s full of great monuments to kings, queens, prime ministers and two of the great civil rights leaders of the last century. And it also has statues of the world’s most fictional detective, the world’s most famous marmalade-eating bear, a misidentified Greek god and one of the great singers of the 21st century, which some of you may find more endearing.
In this guide to the best famous London statues, I’ll describe the people or characters depicted, tell you the history of the statue and guide you quickly and easily to the statue from the nearest Tube station or bus stop. I also suggest a few tours where appropriate.
Enjoy!
Where to Stay In London
***** – The Dilly – outstanding hotel, superb location close to Piccadilly Circus, the West End and many of the main London sights
**** – Strand Palace – century-old beauty in a great location 5 minutes from Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square
*** – Leicester House Hotel – intimate boutique hotel on Leicester Square, ideal for London sightseeing
The Best Famous Statues In London To Discover
Boadicea And Her Daughters
We begin with one of the oldest figures commemorated by a statue in London, Boadicea (also called Boudicca), Queen of the Iceni tribe from what is now northern East Anglia.
Interest in ancient British history grew in the 19th century, especially the exploits of Boudicca. The Romans had taken over the Iceni kingdom in 50 AD, following the death of her husband, King Prasutagus. Boadicea and her daughters were meant to inherit half the kingdom, but the Romans ignored this.
Boudicca lead a brutal rebellion against the Romans in AD 61, sacking the cities of Camulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium (London). The rebellion was eventually defeated, and Boudicca died, possibly taking her own life. But she gave the mighty Romans a monumental scare.
The sculptor, Thomas Thornycroft, spent almost thirty years (1856 to 1885) working on the ensemble, which also includes two of her daughters. They are all riding a chariot into battle – and this one is modelled on a Roman chariot.
Boadicea and Her Daughters was eventually installed at its present location on a plinth near the end of Westminster Bridge in 1902, 17 years after Thornycroft died.
Location: the statue is on the corner of Bridge Street and Victoria Embankment
Getting there: Westminster Tube station (Circle, District and Jubilee lines) – and leave the station via Exit 1
Sir Winston Churchill, Parliament Square
It’s appropriate that another wartime British leader should be commemorated within sight of the Houses of Parliament.
The statue, by Ivor Roberts-Jones, occupies a prominent spot on Parliament Square. Depending on your vantage point, either Westminster Abbey or the Houses of Parliament form the backdrop. It was installed and unveiled two years after it was commissioned, in 1973.
Intriguingly, Roberts-Jones used his Welsh artist friend Kyffin Williams as his model for Churchill. However, one of the fundraisers for the statue offered some interesting feedback – that the figure’s forehead bore more of a resemblance to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini! This concern was duly addressed.
Roberts-Jones’ statue of Churchill has become one of the most iconic statues in Britain. You only need to see a small part of the sculpture – such as the legs and walking stick, or the hunched back – to recognize the subject.
If you’re interested in Churchill and Second World War history, don’t miss the outstanding Churchill War Rooms a short walk away from Parliament Square.
Location: Parliament Square
Getting there: Westminster Tube (Circle, District and Jubilee Lines) – exit 4.
Tours: This walking tour of Westminster includes entry to the Churchill War Rooms
Eros, Piccadilly Circus
The figure of Eros, which stands atop the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, is one of the most famous statues in London – if not the most famous. And it’s also a famous case of mistaken identity.
Because it’s not – and never was intended to be – Eros at all. Sculptor Alfred Gilbert set out to create a figure of Anteros, the brother of Eros, both of whom werre s sons of Ares and Aphrodite.
Eros and Anteros are depicted similarly in ancient Greek art, but whereas Eros is often associated with lust and desire, Anteros is seen to represent a more mature, selfless love.
The aluminium statue crowning a bronze fountain was a memorial to the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, after whom one of the most famous streets in London, the adjacent Shaftesbury Avenue, was named.
Shaftesbury was a widely admired philanthropist, and one of his principal achievements was bringing an end to child labour, which was replaced by school education. Alfred Gilbert felt that Anteros reflected the good qualities of the Earl of Shaftesbury, hence his decision to pay tribute to him by depicting Anteros. He thought of Eros as ‘frivolous’, and would no doubt be horrified at the misnaming of his statue if he was to return to London for a day.
So why is the figure still called Eros? The two brothers were always depicted similarly, with Anteros having slightly longer hair. Eros is also a more widely known Greek god (also known as Cupid). It’s also a few steps from the streets of Soho, long known for its brothels and bawdy nightlife. People kept repeating the wrong name and eventually it stuck!
Getting there: Tube to Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines), or buses 14, 19 or 38 to Trocadero/Haymarket on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Lord Nelson, Nelson’s Column, and Landseer’s Lions, Trafalgar Square
When faced with a life-or-death situation during the Battle of the Nile, he supposedly said, ”Before this time tomorrow, I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster Abbey.” In other words, glory or death and a state funeral. He knew he would be celebrated after his death, but perhaps didn’t imagine himself in such a prominent position in one of the most famous squares in London, itself named after his final victory.
The short stature of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte is often mentioned, but he was almost three inches taller than his naval nemesis, Lord Horatio Nelson died at the age of 47 at the Battle of Trafalgar, shot by a French sailor on a ship during a close-quarters fight. He didn’t get to be buried in Westminster Abbey – instead he was interred in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Battle of Trafalgar was one of Britain’s greatest military victories, establishing supremacy of the seas for much of the 19th century. The victory was commemorated by the naming of the new public space close to Charing Cross after it – Trafalgar Square. And, between 1840 and 1843, the ultimate tribute to Nelson was built – his Column.
Nelson’s Column stands 169 feet high, a Corinthian-style column crowned by the 17-foot (5.2 metre) statue of the Admiral, which is over three times his actual height. The base is decorated with friezes of his most famous victories, at Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar.
The four bronze lions by Edwin Landseer were added around the base of the Column in 1867. They were originally intended to be carved from sandstone, but this plan was abandoned. You can now see these sandstone lions in the model village of Saltaire, one of the best industrial heritage sites in Europe to visit.
Landseer based his design – the four are identical – on the corpse of a lion which he had acquired. As the body was decomposing, he had to base the paws on those of a cat instead. He may also have been inspired by János Marschalkó’s stone lions which decorate the four corners of the famous Chain Bridge over the Danube in Budapest.
Nelson’s Column is one of the most famous London landmarks, and is very close to several more, including the National Gallery and St Martin in the Fields Church.
Getting there: Tube to Charing Cross (Northern Line) or a multitude of buses stop close to the Square.
Amy Winehouse, Camden Stables Market
The late singer Amy Winehouse lived a mile up the road from the statue commemorating her at the Stables Market in Camden Town. She tragically died in 2011 at the age of 27, at her home in Camden Square. Impromptu tributes were left in the small park across the street from her house, but something more permanent was needed for this complete one-off, once-in-half-a-century genius
The sculpture is life-size, and it shows the singer in her prime, with her fantastic beehive hairdo. It’s a must-see if you’re visiting Camden Town, which has long been something of an alternative music mecca.
Location: It’s in the Stables Market on Chalk Farm Road, soon after the famous Camden Lock railway bridge. Turn right at the main entrance, it’s 20-30 metres away, next to the Mr Cappello hat shop.
Getting there: Bus 24 takes you from Trafalgar Square to the Hartland Road / Camden Market stop, from where it’s a few stgeps to the entrance to Stables Market described above.
Tours: This Amy Winehouse walking tour starts at the nearby legendary Roundhouse music venue, continuing to the statue and taking you around several of her haunts around Camden Town.
And this Camden and Kentish Town walking tour takes you to more sites that are part of the area’s rich musical and artistic history.
Nelson Mandela, Parliament Square
The statue of Nelson Mandela stands along with several other important political figures in the garden of Parliament Square.
It was sculpted by Ian Walters, and unveiled in 2007 in Mandela’s presence. Mayor of London Ken Livingstone had hoped for the statue to be placed on Trafalgar Square, and after much wrangling it was decided to site it in Parliament Square instead.
The unveiling of the statue marked the fulfilment of a lifelong dream of Mandela, that there would one day be a statue of a black man on Trafalgar Square. Hear, hear, as they say across the street in the House of Commons.
Queen Anne, St Paul’s Cathedral
The statue of Queen Anne has one of the best positions of any famous statues in London – right outside the west front of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The completion of the new St Paul’s – under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren – coincided with Anne’s reign in the early 18th century. The statue that now stands outside the Cathedral is a replica of the original, which was unveiled in 1713, a work in Carrara marble by Francis Bird.
Queen Anne was the last monarch in the Stuart line, having died childless. Her life was riven with tragedy – she endured five stillbirths, seven miscarriages, and all five of her children died young. She was disparaged by some for her supposed fondness for alcohol – a cruel judgment given all that she had been through.
Getting there: Tube to St Paul’s (Central Line) or buses 15, 17, 26 or 76 to St Paul’s Cathedral
Tours: You can book your St Paul’s Cathedral entry ticket here. Alternatively, this City of London walking tour covers many sites in the ‘Square Mile’ including St Paul’s.
Florence Nightingale, Waterloo Place
Florence Nightingale was one of the greatest Britons of them all, and this statue, along with those of Amy Winehouse and Paddington Bear, is one of my personal favourites in London.
The ‘Lady of the Lamp’ gave up her comfortable lifestyle to devote herself to the care of the sick, and famously tended to wounded soldiers in the field hospital at Scutari during the Crimean War.
This is what she is most famous for, but Nightingale contributed so much more. She raised the status of nursing to professional level, and also introduced much higher standards of hygiene which helped people to live longer. She also did a great deal for the statistics profession, insisting that statistics helped determine the way forward in healthcare
My only minor grumble is that she deserves more prominence. Her statue is on what has become a traffic island next to the Crimean War Memorial, but in my view she belongs on Whitehall or Trafalgar Square, at the very least.
Nearest Tube: Charing Cross (Northern Line), then a 6-7 minute walk
Paddington Bear
Michael Bond’s character Paddington Bear is one of the most popular children’s book characters in the world. The duffle-coat-wearing, marmalade-sandwich-eating stowaway from Peru was named after Paddington Station, where he was found by the Brown family in the first of Bond’s stories.
The popular statue of Paddington – sculpted by Marcus Cornish in 2000 – used to stand next to the main concourse of Paddington Station. However, it has now been moved to Platform 1. It’s near the spot where the Brown family first encounter him in the 2014 Paddington movie, close to the station clock.
Getting there: It’s on platform 1 of Paddington station – you can reach the station via the Circle, District and Hammersmith and City lines.
Tours: This Paddington Bear walking tour includes a few movie locations, starting at Paddington station and taking in Little Venice (canals and narrowboats) and the site of Mr Gruber’s shop on Portobello Road in Notting Hill.
And this Paddington Bear Afternoon Tea Bus Tour is such a wonderful way to see London, with sandwiches, tea and cakes served on a traditional London Routemaster double decker bus, passing many famous London landmarks along the way.
David Lloyd George, Parliament Square
David Lloyd George was one of the most famous Prime Ministers of the 20th century, and also the only Welshman to have attained this office.
He was MP for Caernarfon for over 50 years, and Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922. He led the British to victory in the Great War (later called World War I) and was one of the key negotiators of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. He was also instrumental in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which stated that Jews should have a homeland in Palestine. And he negotiated the terms of independence for Ireland.
He has what historians call a ‘complicated legacy’. They are arguing about it 100 years after he left office, and I can assure you that they will be arguing about it a century from now!
His statue, by Glynn Williams, was unveiled in 2007.
Getting there: Westminster Tube (Circle, District and Jubilee Lines) – exit 4.
The Burghers of Calais, Victoria Tower Gardens
The Burghers of Calais is a series of six statues by French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The original was commissioned by the city of Calais in 1884 to commemorate the end of the 11-month English siege of the city in 1347, during the Hundred Years War.
English King Edward III offered to lift the siege of the city if six prominent citizens (burghers) left the city, each wearing a noose and between them carrying the keys to the city and castle. They were expecting to be executed, but were spared thanks to the intervention of Philippa of Hainault, Edward’s wife and Queen.
The statues in Victoria Tower Gardens are casts of the originals, which stand outside the Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Calais. French law only permits twelve castings from an original Rodin sculpture. One of these is in the excellent Rodin Museum in Paris, and others can be found as far afield as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
Getting there: Westminster Tube (Circle, District and Jubilee Lines) – exit 4, then a 5-minute walk alongside the Houses of Parliament. Otherwise, bus 87 stops near the Gardens.
Emmeline Pankhurst, Victoria Tower Gardens
Mancunian Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the most prominent figures of the Suffragette movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She spent much of her life – as did husband Richard and daughters Christabel, Adela and Sylvia – campaigning for the right of women to vote in Great Britain.
She founded the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903, and the group was renowned for its confrontational approach. This entailed smashing windows, fighting back when demonstrations were suppressed, and this eventually progressed to arson and hunger strikes. Pankhurst was force fed on some occasions, as were other WSPU members.
Pankhurst called off these protests at the outbreak of the First World War, campaigning instead for women to be able to serve and contribute to the nation’s war effort.
Her efforts were partly rewarded in 1918, when all men aged 21and over, and all women 30 and over were given the right to vote. This discrepancy was because authorities felt that men would be under-represented, given the catastrophic losses suffered during the War. Women were finally given equal voting rights in July 1928, but sadly, Pankhurst didn’t live to see it – she died just weeks before.
Her statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in 1930. A small but of her daughter Christabel was later added to the plinth, and it is now known as the Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial.
Getting there: As per directions to the Burghers of Calais statues a short distance away.
King Charles I, Charing Cross
The equestrian figure of King Charles I is the oldest of our famous statues in London. It was most likely completed around 1633 by French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur, a former pupil of Giambologna in Florence. It’s also the first Renaissance equestrian statue in England.
Initially, the statue was placed in the garden of his Lord High Treasurer, Richard Weston, in Roehampton. After the Civil War it was sold with the intention of breaking it down, but the buyer kept it and returned it after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
The traffic island on which the statue of Charles I now stands also contains a plaque stating that the spot is the very centre of London, the point from which road distances to London are measured.
The statue faces down Whitehall, looking towards Banqueting House, where Charles was beheaded in January 1649.
Getting there: The statue is where Whitehall runs into Trafalgar Square, in the middle of the road.
Oliver Cromwell, Parliament Square
Charles’ nemesis, Oliver Cromwell, is commemorated with a statue outside the Houses of Parliament. He brought down the monarchy – albeit for a decade – and brought in full parliamentary rule. He was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England from 1653 until his death in 1658.
Like Charles, Cromwell remains a controversial figure. As well as beheading a king, massacres were committed by his troops during the English conquest of Ireland between 1649 and 1643, including massacres at Drogheda and Wexford. Cromwell’s cruel actions in Ireland left deep wounds which fuelled resentment towards the English conquerors for decades, even centuries afterwards.
His statue – by Hamo Thornycroft – stands outside the House of Commons, and faces west across Parliament Square. It was inaugurated in 1899.
Getting there: Westminster Tube (Circle, District and Jubilee Lines) – exit 4
Sherlock Holmes, Marylebone Road
Apart from Madame Tussauds, the main attraction around Baker Street is the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous fictional detective resided at 221B Baker Street, but the statue of Holmes is a few minutes’ walk away on Marylebone Road, outside Baker Street Tube station.
The statue, by John Doubleday, was inaugurated in September 1999. It shows Holmes in classic garb, with a cape and deerstalker cap, as he was illustrated by Sidney Paget in many editions of The Strand Magazine in the early 1900s.
Getting there: Tube to Baker Street (Circle, Hammersmith & City, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines).
Tours: This Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour takes you around central London in the footsteps of the famous detective
Hodge The Cat, Gough Square
Hodge was one of Dr Samuel Johnson’s pet cats, of whom the writer was especially fond.
We don’t know a great deal about the feline, other than he lived with Dr Johnson in the 1760s or 1770s. Johnson indulged the cat by going out to buy oysters for him, which he then ate many times! This explains the oyster shells on the base of the statue, close to the figure of the cat.
The small statue of Hodge the cat is on Gough Square, a few metres from Dr Johnson’s House, the museum in the house where the writer lived and compiled the first dictionary in the English language.
The statue was created by Jon Bickley, and was unveiled in 1997.
Tours: This London City and Square Mile Tour takes you through the many backstreets of the City of London, revealing many hidden treasures along the way, including Gough Square and Hodge the Cat.
Getting there: bus 15 or 26 to Fetter Lane (on Fleet Street). Turn left at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub onto Wine Office Court, then bear left under the trees and continue along Hind Court. After 50 metres, you’ll find Hodge on your left.
Famous Statues in London – Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this guide to the most famous statues in London. As you’d expect from a city with such a rich history there are a great many statues to discover, but it’s smaller ones like Hodge the Cat and Paddington Bear that often charm visitors the most.
Having lived in London and visited it countless times, I’ve written extensively about the Big Smoke. Here are more of my London articles to browse through:
34 Famous Streets In London To Explore
16 Old Streets In London – London’s Oldest Streets
25 Most Beautiful Churches in London To Visit
Where To Find The Best Red Telephone Boxes In London
Visiting Westminster Abbey – London’s Astounding Royal Church
15 Best Things To Do In West London
Visiting The Golden Hinde London – on board Sir Francis Drake’s recreated pirate ship
Marc Bolan Shrine London – the shrine to the late, great T Rex singer
Sunrise In London – 10 Best Places To See It
Sunsets In London – The Best 20 Locations