Sculpture | London On The Ground

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The Monument, the relief and its meaning

London On The Ground

Oct 207 min read

The Monument, the relief and its meaning

The sculpture on the Monument to the Great Fire of London is rich with symbolism . It illustrates the catastrophe that destroyed...

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Albert Memorial: a rare look at the undercroft

London On The Ground

Sep 296 min read

Albert Memorial: a rare look at the undercroft

Simple brick arches support one of Victorian London's most elaborate monuments. I recently joined the first ever public tour of the...

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The Islington pub with a carved fireplace more than 400 years old

London On The Ground

Sep 234 min read

The Islington pub with a carved fireplace more than 400 years old

The Old Queen's Head, Victorian on the outside and Tudor inside. The popular North London watering hole on Essex Road appears to be like...

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Serenity in the City: Karin Jonzen's sculptures

London On The Ground

Jul 285 min read

Serenity in the City: Karin Jonzen's sculptures

Four works by the 20th century sculptor in the City of London. One of the pleasures of walking around the Square Mile is the wide variety...

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Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's

London On The Ground

May 273 min read

Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's

Fire, Air, Water and Earth: stone relief for Lloyd's. The carving, in a hidden City of London alleyway, represents the Four Elements.

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London On The Ground

Mar 165 min read

Senate House: Stalinist or Art Deco?

The University of London's 1937 landmark by Charles Holden: views differ. Senate House in Bloomsbury is the administrative centre of the...

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St Olaf House: an Art Deco classic at Hay's Wharf

London On The Ground

Mar 45 min read

St Olaf House: an Art Deco classic at Hay's Wharf

Striking 1930s entrance hall and staircase, sculpted river front panels and other fine architectural details. I recently took some...

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The Royal Exchange frieze: a freeze frame of history

London On The Ground

Feb 246 min read

The Royal Exchange frieze: a freeze frame of history

Sculptures on the Victorian building tell of the City of London's past It is easy to miss the sculpted details on the the Royal Exchange,...

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Temple Bar Memorial: Victorian delights you may not have noticed

London On The Ground

Feb 26 min read

Temple Bar Memorial: Victorian delights you may not have noticed

The fearsome dragon is impressive, but the plinth contains hidden treasures. Temple Bar Memorial, where The Strand becomes Fleet Street,...

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Frederic Leighton's art at Leighton House

London On The Ground

Jan 144 min read

Frederic Leighton's art at Leighton House

An excellent collection of 19th century paintings and sculpture by Frederic Leighton. The painter, draughtsman and sculptor was one of...

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Angel Wings sculpture: not just for Christmas

London On The Ground

Nov 24, 20233 min read

Angel Wings sculpture: not just for Christmas

Angel Wings is a year-round 'Christmas decoration' on an epic scale, a play on the Angel Islington's name and link to the Nativity story.

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Shakespeare in Shoreditch: a statue and The Stage

London On The Ground

Nov 5, 20237 min read

Shakespeare in Shoreditch: a statue and The Stage

A statue and visitor centre for The Theatre and The Curtain playhouse sites. The Theatre and The Curtain, both in Shoreditch, were...

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A quartet of carved clergy: the Bishops' Tree at Fulham Palace

London On The Ground

Sep 15, 20233 min read

A quartet of carved clergy: the Bishops' Tree at Fulham Palace

Four wooden Bishops await visitors to the gardens of Fulham Palace. Environmental sculptor Andrew Frost carved them from a dead cedar tree

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Sanctuary, Naomi Blake's sculpture for victims of oppression

London On The Ground

Jun 10, 20234 min read

Sanctuary, Naomi Blake's sculpture for victims of oppression

A moving sculpted art work sits alone outside St Botolph Aldgate in the City of London. Walks and tours available for booking The London...

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Emily Young's serene stone angels near St Paul's need to be seen

London On The Ground

Apr 7, 20235 min read

Emily Young's serene stone angels near St Paul's need to be seen

See the angel heads by Britain's "greatest living stone sculptor" on public display next to St Paul's. Five angel heads by Emily Young,...

160 views2 comments

Tim Crawley's City of London stone sculptures

London On The Ground

Mar 10, 20234 min read

Tim Crawley's City of London stone sculptures

The City of London boasts fine examples of work by Tim Crawley, one of the UK's foremost sculptors of stone. Tim Crawley describes...

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London On The Ground

Feb 24, 20235 min read

Ludgate, London, Lud and legend

Lud, a pre-Roman ancient Briton, founded London, according to legend. There is a very old legend that a king called Lud ruled in ancient...

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The City of London's only modern sculpture of school children

London On The Ground

Nov 25, 20224 min read

The City of London's only modern sculpture of school children

Andrew F Brown's bronze on Newgate Street immortalises the 470 year old 'Bluecoat school'. The sculpture commemorates Christ's Hospital,...

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London On The Ground

Aug 12, 20223 min read

The delicate terracotta Cutlers

An exquisitely shaped frieze depicting skilled craftsmen adorns a red brick Victorian building in the City of London. The building is...

334 views6 comments

Seven Ages of Man: Shakespeare, BT & brutalism

London On The Ground

Feb 11, 20222 min read

Seven Ages of Man: Shakespeare, BT & brutalism

Shakespeare's 'All the world's a stage' inspired a 22ft sculpture at BT's brutalist City of London building. The statue, entitled 'Seven...

147 views0 comments

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Subscribe Form To receive details of walks that are available for booking and new posts from the London blog

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