History in Eight London Science Statues
A Unique Tour of London's Past, by Rachael Rowe
Is ‘hurry culture’ obscuring London’s history?
For seven years, I was fortunate to call London my home, commuting from its suburbs to its centre for work. Deep in my heart I am a country girl, however, so there was one thing in particular that struck me each time I emerged bleary-eyed from the depths of the underground transport system, wearily clutching the hot coffee working hard to wake me up.
It is so, so busy.
In fact, I don’t think busy even begins to cover it.
People seem to walk at other-worldly speeds, paying no heed to the people around them, let alone the streets and buildings they weave through on their journeys. Eyes fixed on their destination, headphones in, phones in hand, they seem almost to be on autopilot. Heaven help the person who tries to talk to them.
Yet those streets and buildings are dripping with the history of this 2,000-year-old settlement. Tiny fragments and clues still exist today to reveal what this metropolis was like in years gone by, including the people who lived and worked there.
Scattered around London are several statues, each with a story of how people helped change the world with science. Some are hidden in plain sight while others are almost overlooked as people pass by. But who are they?
I’m delighted to share this week’s guest post by author
, which dives into the history of some of London’s statues, many of which I have raced past on my commute without a second’s thought. Much like previous guest author (who wrote the article 5 Places Everyone Should Visit in London in 2024), Rachael takes us on a tour of the lesser-known parts of our capital’s history, revealing interesting insights into the people who walked its streets before us.Rachael Rowe is a writer and journalist, and the author of The Science Lover’s Guide to London published by Pen and Sword. You can find her work on Substack at her newsletter,
.If you’re new here, the Society of History Writers is founded upon the principle of collaboration. It’s the ONLY space on Substack dedicated to bringing writers of history and historical fiction together to share their experience, grow in their craft, and share their writing exclusively with a growing worldwide audience. I am honoured to provide this space to spotlight your writing and share it with colleagues and readers across the world.
History in Eight London Science Statues
Rachael Rowe
London has been at the centre of scientific discovery and innovation for centuries. From the Frick Institute to the Science Museum, the city is brimming with stories about research, saving lives, and engineering design.
Scattered around London are several statues, each with a story of how people helped change the world with science. Some are hidden in plain sight while others are almost overlooked as people pass by.
As they ooze history, however, it’s worth taking a moment to look at these statues and memorials.
Louisa Brandreth Aldrich Blake
Two busts of Louisa Brandreth Aldrich Blake are located in a corner of Tavistock Square Gardens. Designed by Edward Lutyens in 1926 one statue faces the traffic while the other looks towards the park.
So who was she?
Louisa Brandreth Aldrich Blake was the first woman to be awarded a Master of Surgery in Britain, graduating from the Royal Free Hospital in 1893. When she worked at the Royal Free Hospital she also became the first female anaesthetist. The First World War brought many changes for women and Louisa volunteered her services as a military surgeon. Louisa became Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women in 1914, increasing the number of places for ladies to train as doctors. Aldrich-Blake was also the first to operate on rectal and pelvic cancers.
Sadly, Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake died of cancer in 1925 but her legacy lives on in the careers of female surgeons today.
Sir James Henry Greathead
An engineering genius, Sir James Henry Greathead (1844-1896) pioneered the use of deep level tunnels in the London Underground.
One of the major challenges in underground construction was the constant danger of mud and floodwater seeping through the site. Marc Brunel faced this challenge when he attempted to dig a tunnel under the Thames in 1825. Brunel developed a huge iron shield that enabled workers to dig successfully as the framework was forced forward. James Henry Greathead, however, went one step further. He used compressed air behind a shield which prevented flooding as the lining was inserted. Greathead’s shield enabled tunnelling under large rivers like the Thames and for infrastructure to modernise cities. The concept is still used today in modern engineering.
Greathead’s statue on Cornhill is dual purpose in that it is a memorial to his work but also acts as a ventilation shaft for Bank station, one of London’s deepest underground stations.
Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891)
When people walk along the Embankment today, many have no idea that the Thames once flowed where they walk, and that the smell of sewage would have been unbearable. Joseph Bazalgette’s statue on the Embankment is a testimony to his work in designing a sewer system for London and saving thousands of lives.
During the 1850s, Bazalgette was Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Work. In response to the Great Stink of 1858 and significant cholera epidemics, Bazalgette was tasked with designing a new sewer system for London. The Victoria Embankment was constructed so a network of sewers could carry waste away from the city and the system was modelled on a quadrupled population so it would remain resilient to change. Bazalgette was also responsible for designing four pumping stations including at Abbey Mills and Crossness, moving waste out of London. His work saved thousands of lives from water borne diseases.
Bazalgette’s memorial was designed by George Blackall Simonds with the inscription:
Flumini vincula posvit
He put the river in chains. Trolleys and Steel - Abigail Fallis DNA DL90
Art and science combine in an unusual statue on The Line, an artistic trail that snakes through East London from Stratford to Greenwich.
One of the more unusual sculptures is a tower of shopping trolleys shaped in a DNA double helix. Located on the riverside at Bromley By Bow, the artwork by Abigail Fallis was commissioned in 2003 to mark the 50th anniversary of James Watson and Francis Crick’s discovery of DNA’s double-helix structure, based on Rosalind Franklin’s findings. The sculpture, however, also helped raise awareness of muscular dystrophy because DNA was fundamental to understanding the disease.
Abigail Fallis believed her representation of the shopping trolleys in a DNA helix is symbolic of consumer culture in modern society and how that impacts on genes and the environment.
John Keats Talking Statue
Within Guy’s Hospital is a statue of John Keats, seated on a bench. Thanks to the wonders of technology, a quick scan of a nearby QR code enables Keats to speak.
John Keats was born in Moorgate, London in 1795 and trained as a surgeon apothecary at Guy’s Hospital. The statue’s voice tells the relatively unknown side of John Keats as he trained in surgery and explores why he gave up that career to become one of Britain’s best known poets. Some of his finest work is To Autumn, and Ode on a Grecian Urn.
John Keats died in Italy at the age of 25. There is also a statue of John Keats near Moorgate Station, marking his birthplace.
Other talking statues on the Guy’s Campus include Asclepius, the Greek demi-god of medicine, and Thomas Guy, the hospital’s founder.
Dr Salter’s Daydream
Along the river path between Rotherhithe and Bermondsey are a set of four statues with a poignant story to tell. The sculptures were created by Diane Galvin and installed in 1991. There’s a bespectacled man in a hat waving to a little girl. A woman stands nearby while a bronze cat languishes on the wall beside the Thames.
Dr Alfred Salter (1873-1945) trained as a doctor at Guy’s Hospital in London. When he came to Bermondsey to work, he was appalled at the dire poverty and opened a clinic that was free to working class people at a time when healthcare had to be paid for by the public. Salter met his wife Ada, and the couple got married in 1900. They had a choice of living outside Bermondsey, away from the poverty but chose to live among the community. Sadly, this came with terrible consequences as their daughter Joyce died of scarlet fever in 1910 at just 8 years old.
Dr Salter did a lot for the community. He installed a solarium for TB sufferers and showed educational films from vans. In addition to free healthcare, Dr Salter’s public health strategy worked. By 1935 the annual infant mortality had dropped from 150 to 69 - and no mother died in childbirth in Bermondsey.
Samuel Plimsoll
Before the load line was invented by Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), ships went to sea horrendously overloaded and frequently sank.
Plimsoll was a social reformer and politician who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of mariners. His most famous invention was the development of the load line which measured a ship’s waterline to ensure the height from the waterline to the main deck, known as the freeboard, was sufficient. Initially the Plimsoll Line was simple with a circle and horizontal line. It evolved, however, to have additional marks, reflecting the effects of differing climates and water densities on loads.
The Plimsoll memorial on the Victoria Embankment was erected by the National Union of Seamen in recognition of the countless lives saved at sea, and is fittingly marked with a Plimsoll Line.
Alice Kan
Alice Kan is a living engineer and is featured in one of London’s newest and more modern installations. Designed to inspire a new generation of engineers, the sculpture is bright and vibrant, standing outside the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The statue was designed by artist Kelly Anna and was unveiled to mark National Engineering Day 2024, featuring manufacturing engineer Alice Kan from Macclesfield. Kan played a pivotal role in the manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine and is now working on vaccines for Ebola. The statue reflects her work with an oversized vial, a pencil, and Alice Kan looking in hope.
Do you have a favourite statue in London?
Join us in the comments as we share our own experiences with the monuments of our capital’s prestigious forbears, both recent and long-past.
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Images credit:
Louisa Brandreth Aldrich Blake - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fartuk.org%2Fdiscover%2Fartworks%2Fdame-louisa-aldrich-blake-18651925-309800&psig=AOvVaw2rp-SUZwCIxSVIx1NPt51u&ust=1737379861752000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCPD3v8LygYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ
Sir James Henry Greathead - Rachael Rowe
Joseph Bazalgette - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Bazalgette_memorial,_Victoria_Embankment_-_wide_view.jpg
Abigail Fallis - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthe-line.org%2Fartist%2Fabigail-fallis%2F&psig=AOvVaw1KhiFzSQC9iQrsQQkMGVN3&ust=1737380060245000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCLiPxpzzgYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
John Keats - Rachael Rowe
Dr Salter’s Daydream - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblackcablondon.net%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Fdoctor-salters-daydream%2F&psig=AOvVaw2-vlvktG3vxcE_7aSughtH&ust=1737380106695000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCPj_jrfzgYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
Samuel Plimsoll - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.londonremembers.com%2Fmemorials%2Fsamuel-plimsoll&psig=AOvVaw3uLD427xWbglzgXvKBSKuw&ust=1737380156858000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCMjdtsvzgYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
Alice Kan - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbusiness.itn.co.uk%2Fhonouring-engineers-vibrant-new-statue-of-alice-kan-unveiled-in-london%2F&psig=AOvVaw0q8a4SDzNPOJwb6of0gEGM&ust=1737380208558000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCPCKnuTzgYsDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
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I love this. Some of these statues I know well, like Louisa Blake opposite the British Medical Association, where I used to work and lovely Dr Salter by the Thames at Rotherhithe (such a sad story). I haven't seen the DNA shopping trolleys yet, but it's fantastic. One to look out for next time I'm in Greenwich.
Thanks! I'd heard and read about the Plimsoll Line but had far more imaginative idea about its possible origins!