Rooftop Statues

“I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.”
Charlotte Bronte

Sometimes hidden away above London's skyline, where you have to raise your head to view, are some of the best sculptures anywhere in London, inhabited along side of London pigeons they are the rooftop statues.

This is the only outside statue of King Henry the VIII and is sited on top of the main entrance to Saint Barts hospital. In 1546 King Henry V111 granted St Bartholomew’s to the City of London, and at that time his statue was installed above the gates.

The Scales of Justice stands at the top of Englands largest court house, the 'Old Bailey.' Built in 1907 the building was designed by E.W. Mountford. The name 'Old Bailey' is taken from the street where the court is situated, which is itself named after an 'old bailey' or former outer Roman wall which once stood here.

Another Rooftop statue is located on the corner of Cock Lane in the city of London. This is the exact spot where the Great fire of London in 1666 was stopped. The guilt boy was erected to remind people that the fire was caused by gluttony. Here once stood The Fortune of War tavern where the sign of the magpie was once at this corner and it was from this bird that this corner became known as Pie Corner

Frederick, Duke of York (1763–1827) Frederick — the “grand old Duke of York” Standing on top of the Duke of York Column at 124 ft high is Frederick the son of George III and the brother of George IV. Frederick had a disastrous military career, and it was said that he was placed so high to keep him away from his creditors. Most of the cost of this memorial, in fact was met by stopping one day’s pay from every soldier in the British army. The column was designed by Benjamin Wyatt, and the bronze statue is by Westmacott, and stands on the spot where Carlton House the royal residence of George IV stood .

This masterpiece by Adrian Jones, born 1848 - died 1935, named "Quadriga", was commissioned by King Edward VII and stands on top of the Wellingtons Arch Hyde Park Corner. Quadriga (from the Latin Quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the Olympic Games and other sacred games. The Statue was built in a garden in Old Church Street Chelsea by Adrian Jones, the work weighs 40 tons dating from 1912.

This lady looking every bit a queen is perched above the rooftop of Smithfield meat market with her sword at her side. The beautiful weather vane of 1869 behind shows a south westerly wind is blowing, how many market porters have looked up at this statue is as unknown as the lady herself.

Peering out from the edge of a top floor window of Saint Andrews Court house is Roof Man, he is looking over St Andrew Hill towards the new Sainsbury's head office, his left hand contorted while his right hand hides beneath a garment. And like a true rooftop statue he remains unnoticed by the passers by.

Another scales of justice statue, this one is hidden in an alcove and goes unnoticed, partly hidden by netting to keep the pigeons away.

Peering out of the B.B.C World service building in the Aldwych is the two radio men, holding what could be the Olympic flame, maybe an omen for the 2012 London Olympics.

Hidden inside the gates of St Dunstan's in Fleet Street is the only statue of Elizabeth I of England. This statue was once more prominent on Ludgate Hill at the old "Lud" gate, a gateway near the bottom of the hill. When the ancient gateway was demolished the statue was placed in the basement of a nearby pub for storage. Forgotten over the centuries it was rediscovered in 1839 by workmen taking down the old pubic house, afterwards being moved here to its final resting place in the alcove of obscurity.

This slayer of creatures stands on a high column in the courtyard above the rooftop of Westminster Abbey. He is about to give what appears to be a headless dragon a nasty blow with his upheld sword. It commemorates scholars of Westminster School who died in the Crimea.

These golden Angels appear above the rooftops over looking Regents Park. Although they are under the weather vain and they seem to be caught with the sun as their hands shield their eyes. They go completely unnoticed by most people enjoying the park and they are most certainly Angels on high.

This bronze figure sculpted by London Born Alfred Drury 1856-1944. Stands hidden in an alcove on Vauxhall Bridge, and is one of eight female figures on the bridge representing the Arts and Sciences dating from 1909, with some others also Sculpted by Frederick Pomeroy. This one celebrating Architecture, and holding the rather detailed model of St Paul's Cathedral in her hand. Only noticeable to river boat traffic going under Vauxhall Bridge. Note on the left of the Bridge the River Tyburn outflow, the Tyburn being one of London's lost underground rivers.

This rooftop statue is hard to spot in the alcove above the main entrance to Nell Gwyn house, and goes unnoticed by the fast moving traffic along Sloane Avenue. It is the only statue of a courtesan and the top one at that, the mistress of King Charles II. Notice the King Charles Cavalier at her ankles, was this dog named after or before her royal affair?

First unveiled in 1932 the bust and two brass plates of Arthur Phillip in the St Mildreds Church Bread Street before the world war two bomb destroyed the church. Now standing in Watling Street and one of the most unseen hero's of English history, for it was Arthur Phillips who sailed from Portsmouth with the first thousand settlers to colonise Australia, first landing at Botany Bay before moving a little north into what he described as "the finest harbour in the world," or what we now know as Sydney. One of the brass plates shows five men raising the flag at Sydney on Wednesday 23 January 1788, the other shows the official occasion three days later when New South Wales was founded.

The largest department store on Oxford Street is Selfridges where high above the Art-Deco main entrance there is a statue to the Queen of Time riding in her Ship of Commerce. With the mad rush of shoppers how many have time to look up at this Queen?

High above the Old Billingsgate market building are London's Flyin' Fish. The two have a birds eye view of the River Thames and have seen many changes to the place over the last century with the goings on below. Gone are the Fish Market porters with iron wheeled carts rattling along the cobbled stone road. Gone are the Docks and the River traffic down below, now they see the old fish market used as a corporate venue with large stretched limos coming and going. Perched above the skyline they keep their eyes on the weather.

Through the ages footsteps have trod along Fleet Street, too busy to look up at the Queen who lost her head on the orders of her cousin, Elizabeth I in 1587. She spent her entire life as the Scottish Queen, for only six days after she was born her father James V died, and from then on she became Mary Queen of Scotland.

The Mutilated Statues of Zimbabwe House

Standing high above in the alcoves of the window ledges of Zimbabwe House, are these Mutilated Rooftop sculptures by Jacob Epstein. They date from 1908 when Charles Holden designed the building for the British Medical Association. These statues caused quite a stir in their time because of their naughty bits although the British Medical Association stood by Epstien and they were aloud to flourish.

It was not until the Rhodesian High Commission bought the building some 30 years later that the castration began. Said to have been done for health and safety because the dangly bits were in danger of falling off in bad winds because they were decaying somewhat. Shrouded in mystery the statues survive in their present form.

The Cornhill Devils

High above the rooftop by St Peter’s Church, Cornhill are the three angry devils who pour scorn on anyone entering the said church. The story behind them is thus, during the building of the office block next door to the church, the builders nicked a foot of the church ground. This act was noted by the rector, the building plans were put back and the architect was made to re-plan his works. So bitter was the architect, that he engrossed the rectors face upon one of the devils, and set three devils upon the roof to add curses to anyone that entered the church.

Bundle of Joy

Above the Royal Society of the Arts rooftop as you would expect are some fine sculptures, three in all. I go for this rather dejected soul with her blanket across one arm and her little bundle of joy held tight in her other hand. Watch out for the paving stones by her right foot!

The Eleanor Cross

The Eleanor cross at Charing Cross Station has a lot of Rooftop appeal as it is all of 70ft high. The original cross stood where Charles I now sits upon his horse at the top of Whitehall. The Eleanor Crosses were 12 lavishly decorated stone monuments that King Edward I had placed wherever Queen Eleanor's funeral cortege stopped to rest, this being the final stop before Westminster Abbey. The original cross was destroyed in 1647, with this replacement cross being erected in 1865 in front of the Station forecourt a year after the Station was first opened.

Sir Thomas Gresham and the golden grasshopper

The legend of the grasshopper .

A poor little boy deserted by his parents was lying half-dead in a Norfolk meadow, and would have most certainly perished had it not been for a noisy grasshopper attracting a passer-by to look in the direction of the starving lad. The kind passer-by , adopted this poor wretch found in the field and gave him his Norfolk family name of Gresham. This young lad called Thomas was to one day build the greatest London exchange where merchants could transact business and high above the steeple he raised a great golden grasshopper, so all men might know and wonder at the strange fortune this creature had helped to build. The truth though is less romantic.

Above the steeple of the Royal Exchange is the world’s biggest grasshopper.

Born in London in 1519 Sir Thomas Gresham, descendent of a Norfolk family and the son of the knight Sir Richard Gresham, a leading London Merchant and one time Lord Mayor of London. Thomas rewarded for his loyal services to King Henry VIII in negotiations for loans with merchants from abroad, was himself bestowed a knighthood. Having won and lost favour with Queen Mary, Thomas became the flavour of his day with Queen Elizabeth as financial agent of the crown. He later built of his own expense the Royal Exchange at Bank Junction and Cornhill in exchange for the London merchants buying the land. A rebuilt version of the Royal Exchange stands on the same spot to this day, and supports the golden grasshopper emblem of the Gresham family on top of the dome along with his rooftop statue looking towards his Bishoposgate home. Sir Thomas Gresham died in 1597. As for the grasshopper it was a pun on the family surname Gresham taken from their Norfolk estate of Gresham a corruption of ‘grass ham’ meaning homestead or farm of grain.

Above the grasshopper in Lombard Street is the sign, 15.TG.63 for it was in 1563 that Thomas Gresham offered to build the Royal Exchange at his own expense. The first stone was laid by Gresham on June 7, 1566 with the building completed eighteen months after.

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