# List of public art on the Victoria Embankment

The Victoria Embankment is a road and river-walk on the north bank of the River Thames in London, formed from land reclaimed during the construction of Joseph Bazalgette's sewerage system in the late 19th century. From 1864 a sequence of public gardens called the Victoria Embankment Gardens was created from this land. Running from north-east to south-west, these are called Temple Gardens, the Main Garden, the Whitehall Garden and finally the Ministry of Defence section; the last of these was laid out in 1939–1959. All four gardens contain works of commemorative sculpture and further memorials are located on the river-walk or road itself, making the Embankment one of the main sites for commemoration in London.
Map of public art on the Victoria Embankment

## City of London

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Artist / designer | Architect / other | Type | Designation |
| More images | Dragon boundary marks | Victoria Embankment 51°30′40″N 0°06′42″W﻿ / ﻿51.5111°N 0.1116°W﻿ / 51.5111; -0.1116﻿ (Dragon boundary markers) | 1847–1849 | ? | James Bunstone Bunning | Statues | Grade II |
| | Statue of Thomas More | Old City of London School building | 1881–1882 | John Daymond and Son | Davis and Emanuel | Statue in niche | Grade II |
| | Statue of Francis Bacon | Old City of London School building | 1881–1882 | John Daymond and Son | Davis and Emanuel | Statue in niche | Grade II |
| | Statue of William Shakespeare | Old City of London School building | 1881–1882 | John Daymond and Son | Davis and Emanuel | Statue in niche | Grade II |
| | Statue of John Milton | Old City of London School building | 1881–1882 | John Daymond and Son | Davis and Emanuel | Statue in niche | Grade II |
| | Statue of Isaac Newton | Old City of London School building | 1881–1882 | John Daymond and Son | Davis and Emanuel | Statue in niche | Grade II |
| More images | Memorial to Queen Victoria's last visit to the City | Incorporated into the railings of Middle Temple Gardens | 1902 | John Daymond & Son or Charles Henry Mabey | Andrew Murray (City Surveyor) | Memorial with relief sculpture; boundary marker | — |
| More images | National Submarine War Memorial | Temple Pier 51°30′39″N 0°06′40″W﻿ / ﻿51.5109°N 0.1110°W﻿ / 51.5109; -0.1110﻿ (National Submarine War Memorial) | 1922 and 1959 | Frederick Brook Hitch | A. Heron Ryan Tenison | Plaque | Grade II* |
| | Controlled Energy | Unilever House | 1931–1932 | William Reid Dick | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |
| | Keystones | Unilever House | 1931–1932 | Gilbert Ledward | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |
| | Two lamp standards | Unilever House | 1931–1932 | Walter Gilbert | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |
| | Relief panels | Unilever House | 1931–1932 | Walter Gilbert | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |
| | Abundance | Unilever House | 1980 | Bernard Sindall | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |
| | Japanese, Nigerian and English Girls | Unilever House | 1982–1983 | Nicholas Monro | J. Lomax Simpson with Burnet, Tait and Partners | Architectural sculpture | Grade II |

## City of Westminster

| Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates | Date | Artist / designer | Architect / other | Type | Designation | Notes |
| More images | Cleopatra's Needle Thutmose III and Ramesses II | Adelphi Steps, near Hungerford Bridge 51°30′31″N 0°07′13″W﻿ / ﻿51.5085°N 0.1203°W﻿ / 51.5085; -0.1203﻿ (Cleopatra's Needle) | 1450 BC c. 1450 BC | — | George John Vulliamy | Obelisk | Grade I | One of a pair of obelisks erected in Heliopolis by Thutmose III; two centuries later the inscriptions to Ramesses II were added and in 12 BC they were moved to Alexandria. Presented to Britain in 1819, but not brought to London until 1878. Its companion was re-erected in Central Park, New York, in 1881. |
| More images | Boadicea and Her Daughters Boudica | Near Westminster Pier 51°30′04″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.5011°N 0.1238°W﻿ / 51.5011; -0.1238﻿ (Boadicea and Her Daughters) | 1856–1883 | Thomas Thornycroft and William Hamo Thornycroft | Thomas Graham Jackson | Sculptural group | Grade II | The elder Thornycroft's magnum opus, brought to completion by his son. The style of the figures was out of fashion by the time the group was installed here in 1902. |
| More images | Statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel | Near Temple tube station 51°30′39″N 0°06′55″W﻿ / ﻿51.5108°N 0.1152°W﻿ / 51.5108; -0.1152﻿ (Statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel) | 1861 c. 1861 | Carlo Marochetti | Richard Norman Shaw | Statue | Grade II | Erected 1877. This and Marochetti's statue of George Stephenson outside Euston station were originally planned for Parliament Square. Shaw's masonry screen, then a complete novelty but much imitated since, may have been intended to block the tube station from view. |
| | Lions' heads with mooring rings | Victoria Embankment, at intervals beneath lamps on the river side of the river wall | 1868–1870 | Timothy Butler | Joseph Bazalgette and George John Vulliamy | Lion's head masks | Grade II | The bronze masks with mooring rings were the earliest elements in the Embankment's decorative programme to be installed. For the tide to rise of the level of the lions' mouths would be a sign of severe flooding, so a saying has arisen, "if the lions drink, London will sink". |
| More images | Dolphin lamp standards | Victoria Embankment | 1870 onwards | Charles Henry Mabey | George John Vulliamy | Lamp standards with sculptural elements | Grade II | |
| More images | Statue of Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′21″N 0°07′24″W﻿ / ﻿51.5057°N 0.1234°W﻿ / 51.5057; -0.1234﻿ (Statue of Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet) | 1871 | Matthew Noble | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 17 August 1871 by Lord Halifax. Permission for a statue to Outram in Trafalgar Square had been refused in 1861. Trophies of arms representing his Indian campaigns rest on the corners of the pedestal. |
| More images | Benches | Victoria Embankment 51°30′33″N 0°07′09″W﻿ / ﻿51.5093°N 0.1192°W﻿ / 51.5093; -0.1192﻿ (Bench) | 1872–1874 | Lewis and George John Vulliamy | — | Benches | Grade II | 21 cast iron and timber benches set along the Embankment, all to a design depicting winged sphinxes in their terminal arm-brackets, except for that opposite the junction with Horseguards Avenue, which depicts seated camels instead. |
| More images | Statue of John Stuart Mill | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Temple Gardens 51°30′40″N 0°06′48″W﻿ / ﻿51.5112°N 0.1132°W﻿ / 51.5112; -0.1132﻿ (Statue of John Stuart Mill) | 1878 | Thomas Woolner | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 26 January 1878. The first statue specifically designed for a site on the Embankment. |
| More images | Two sphinxes | Cleopatra's Needle 51°30′31″N 0°07′13″W﻿ / ﻿51.508579°N 0.120239°W﻿ / 51.508579; -0.120239﻿ (Sphinx at Cleopatra's Neeedle) | 1878 | Charles Henry Mabey | George John Vulliamy | Statues | Grade I (with obelisk) | Modelled on a sphinx from the time of Thutmose III in the Duke of Northumberland's collection at Alnwick Castle. |
| More images | Statue of Robert Raikes | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′34″N 0°07′11″W﻿ / ﻿51.5095°N 0.1197°W﻿ / 51.5095; -0.1197﻿ (Statue of Robert Raikes) | 1880 | Thomas Brock | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 3 July 1880 by the Earl of Shaftesbury. Replicas were made in 1929 for the 150th anniversary of the first Sunday school, established by Raikes in Gloucester; they stand in that city and in Toronto. |
| More images | Statue of William Tyndale | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′23″N 0°07′23″W﻿ / ﻿51.5063°N 0.1231°W﻿ / 51.5063; -0.1231﻿ (Statue of William Tyndale) | 1884 | Joseph Edgar Boehm | Edward William Godwin | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 7 May 1884. Erected by the British and Foreign Bible Society to commemorate their 80th anniversary, and the supposed 400th anniversary of Tyndale's birth. |
| More images | Statue of Robert Burns | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′32″N 0°07′16″W﻿ / ﻿51.5089°N 0.1210°W﻿ / 51.5089; -0.1210﻿ (Statue of Robert Burns) | 1884 | John Steell | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 26 July 1884 by Lord Rosebery. A variation on Steell's 1880 statue of Burns in Central Park, New York; other versions are in Dundee (erected 1880) and Dunedin, New Zealand (erected 1887). |
| More images | Memorial to Henry Fawcett | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′33″N 0°07′14″W﻿ / ﻿51.5091°N 0.1205°W﻿ / 51.5091; -0.1205﻿ (Memorial to Henry Fawcett) | 1886 | Mary Grant and George Frampton | Basil Champneys | Drinking fountain with plaque | Grade II | Unveiled 27 July 1886. Grant produced the portrait relief and Frampton, then at an early stage in his career, provided the ornamental sculpture. An erroneous inscription reads MARY GRANT SC/ 1896; this was added in 1897. |
| More images | Statue of Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′18″N 0°07′25″W﻿ / ﻿51.5051°N 0.1236°W﻿ / 51.5051; -0.1236﻿ (Statue of Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet) | 1887 | Thomas Brock | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 5 June 1888 by the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). Frere is represented in privy counsellor's uniform, with the robe and collar of a Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India and the insignia of the Order of the Bath. |
| More images | Statue of Charles George Gordon | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Ministry of Defence section 51°30′16″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.5045°N 0.1238°W﻿ / 51.5045; -0.1238﻿ (Statue of Charles George Gordon) | 1888 | William Hamo Thornycroft | Alfred Waterhouse | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 16 October 1888 in Trafalgar Square. The pedestal was inspired by that of Le Sueur's Charles I at the southern end of the square. Thornycroft's work was removed from its original location in 1943 for the temporary display of a Lancaster bomber and re-erected on this site in 1953. A cast of 1889 is in Melbourne. |
| More images | Statue of William Edward Forster | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′41″N 0°06′44″W﻿ / ﻿51.5113°N 0.1123°W﻿ / 51.5113; -0.1123﻿ (Statue of William Edward Forster) | 1889 | Henry Richard Hope-Pinker | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 1 August 1890. Erected outside the (now demolished) London School Board offices. School boards in England and Wales had been created under "Forster's Education Act" of 1870. |
| More images | Memorial to Joseph Bazalgette | Near Embankment Pier, facing Northumberland Avenue 51°30′23″N 0°07′20″W﻿ / ﻿51.506383°N 0.122250°W﻿ / 51.506383; -0.122250﻿ (Memorial to Joseph Bazalgette) | 1901 | George Blackall Simonds | — | Plaque with bust | Grade II | Unveiled 6 November 1901. Inscribed FLVMINI VINCVLA POSVIT ("he put the river in chains"), referring to Bazalgette's construction of London's sewers, which also resulted in the creation of the Embankment. |
| More images | Memorial to Arthur Sullivan | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′33″N 0°07′13″W﻿ / ﻿51.5093°N 0.1203°W﻿ / 51.5093; -0.1203﻿ (Memorial to Arthur Sullivan) | 1902 | William Goscombe John | — | Bust on pedestal with other sculpture | Grade II | Unveiled 10 July 1903 by Princess Louise. Inscribed with a quotation from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), IS LIFE A BOON?/ IF SO, IT MUST BEFALL/ THAT DEATH, WHENE'ER HE CALL/ MUST CALL TOO SOON. |
| More images | Memorial to Walter Besant | Near Savoy Place 51°30′34″N 0°07′07″W﻿ / ﻿51.509583°N 0.118533°W﻿ / 51.509583; -0.118533﻿ (Memorial to Walter Besant) | 1902 | George Frampton | — | Plaque | — | Erected 1904. A cast of an identical monument in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, unveiled in 1903. |
| | Gates | Norman Shaw Buildings, Derby Gate 51°30′07″N 0°07′27″W﻿ / ﻿51.501974°N 0.124264°W﻿ / 51.501974; -0.124264﻿ (Gates to Norman Shaw Buildings) | 1904 (erected) | Reginald Blomfield (designer of gates) | Richard Norman Shaw | Gates | Grade II* | These ornate wrought-iron gates were acquired by Shaw after he saw them displayed in an exhibition of Arts and Crafts; they were installed here during the construction of his second building for the New Scotland Yard, now known as the Norman Shaw South Building. |
| More images | Statue of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Brayton | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′31″N 0°07′18″W﻿ / ﻿51.5085°N 0.1218°W﻿ / 51.5085; -0.1218﻿ (Statue of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet) | 1909 | David McGill | — | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 20 July 1909 by H. H. Asquith. The pedestal was originally decorated with bronze statuettes representing Temperance, Charity, Fortitude and Peace; these were stolen in 1979. |
| More images | Memorial to William Thomas Stead | Temple Pier 51°30′39″N 0°06′45″W﻿ / ﻿51.5108°N 0.1126°W﻿ / 51.5108; -0.1126﻿ (Memorial to W. T. Stead) | 1913 | George Frampton | — | Plaque | Grade II | Unveiled 5 July 1920. Portrait relief with two small figures of Fortitude and Sympathy. A replica was unveiled in Central Park, New York, in 1921. |
| | Memorial to Richard Norman Shaw | Norman Shaw North Building 51°30′08″N 0°07′27″W﻿ / ﻿51.502156°N 0.124205°W﻿ / 51.502156; -0.124205﻿ (Memorial to Richard Norman Shaw) | 1914 | William Hamo Thornycroft | William Lethaby | Plaque | Grade I (building) | Unveiled 13 July 1914. Lethaby commended Thornycroft on his posthumous likeness of Shaw: "You must have remembered much, the curled over lip and the serious smiling, saucy look are so alike..." The building is often regarded as Shaw's masterpiece. |
| More images | Memorial to W. S. Gilbert | Near Embankment Pier 51°30′26″N 0°07′18″W﻿ / ﻿51.5072°N 0.1216°W﻿ / 51.5072; -0.1216﻿ (Memorial to W. S. Gilbert) | 1914 | George Frampton | — | Plaque | Grade II | Unveiled 31 August 1915. Portrait relief with figures of Tragedy and Comedy; the latter contemplates a doll dressed as the Mikado. Anthony Hope, who was on the memorial committee, took credit for the epitaph HIS FOE WAS FOLLY/ AND HIS WEAPON WIT, though the exact phrasing was not his. |
| More images | Anglo-Belgian Memorial | Victoria Embankment, facing Cleopatra's Needle 51°30′31″N 0°07′15″W﻿ / ﻿51.5087°N 0.1208°W﻿ / 51.5087; -0.1208﻿ (Anglo-Belgian War Memorial) | 1920 | Victor Rousseau with a Mr Francis | Reginald Blomfield | Screen with sculptural group and reliefs | Grade II* | Unveiled 12 October 1920. A gift from Belgium to thank Britain for her assistance in the First World War. Rousseau modelled the central bronze group and Francis, a student at the Royal College of Art, was tasked with the initial carving of the stone elements, which was finished by Rousseau. A corresponding memorial is in Brussels. |
| More images | Imperial Camel Corps Memorial | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′30″N 0°07′18″W﻿ / ﻿51.5084°N 0.1216°W﻿ / 51.5084; -0.1216﻿ (Imperial Camel Corps Memorial) | 1920 | Cecil Brown | — | Statue on pedestal with reliefs | Grade II | Unveiled 22 July 1921. Major Cecil Brown, the sculptor, was himself a member of the Corps. |
| More images | Royal Air Force Memorial | Whitehall Steps 51°30′14″N 0°07′23″W﻿ / ﻿51.5040°N 0.1231°W﻿ / 51.5040; -0.1231﻿ (Royal Air Force Memorial) | 1923 | William Reid Dick | Reginald Blomfield | Pylon with sculpture | Grade II* | Unveiled 13 July 1923 by the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII). A pylon of Portland stone surmounted by a gilded eagle, perched on a globe. Commemorates RAF personnel killed in both world wars. |
| More images | Memorial to Samuel Plimsoll | Victoria Embankment 51°30′19″N 0°07′24″W﻿ / ﻿51.5053°N 0.1232°W﻿ / 51.5053; -0.1232﻿ (Memorial to Samuel Plimsoll) | 1929 | Ferdinand Victor Blundstone | — | Bust on pedestal with other sculpture | Grade II | Unveiled 21 August 1929. The plinth is flanked by bronze figures of a sailor and Justice. The Plimsoll line is used as a motif on the railings on either side. |
| More images | Memorial to Herbert Eaton, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′32″N 0°07′15″W﻿ / ﻿51.5088°N 0.1209°W﻿ / 51.5088; -0.1209﻿ (Memorial to Herbert Eaton, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore) | 1930 | — | Edwin Lutyens | Screen | Grade II | Unveiled 17 July 1930. Reginald Blomfield, the architect of the Anglo-Belgian Memorial, objected to Lutyens's work being "plastered onto the back" of his own. |
| More images | King's Reach Memorial | Temple Pier 51°30′39″N 0°06′42″W﻿ / ﻿51.510867°N 0.111793°W﻿ / 51.510867; -0.111793﻿ (King's Reach Memorial) | 1936 | Charles Doman | Edwin Cooper | Stele with plaque and sculpture | — | Unveiled 20 January 1936. Commemorates the naming of this stretch of the river after George V. |
| More images | Statue of Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Ministry of Defence section 51°30′13″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.5035°N 0.1240°W﻿ / 51.5035; -0.1240﻿ (Statue of Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard) | 1961 | William McMillan | Albert Richardson | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 19 July 1961 by Harold Macmillan. Richardson was an old friend of Trenchard's and offered to design the pedestal free of charge. |
| More images | Statue of Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Ministry of Defence section 51°30′15″N 0°07′25″W﻿ / ﻿51.504201°N 0.12372°W﻿ / 51.504201; -0.12372﻿ (Statue of Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford) | 1975 | Oscar Nemon | — | Statue | — | Unveiled 21 May 1975 by Harold Macmillan. The statue is set on a triangular slate pedestal, partly intended to evoke the shape of an aerofoil. Portal gazes upwards in the direction of the RAF Memorial. |
| | Murals | Embankment tube station, all platforms | 1985 | Robyn Denny | Arup Associates | Murals | — | This scheme won a Brunel Award for outstanding visual design in 1989. |
| | Savoy Hotel Centenary Memorial Richard D'Oyly Carte and other chairmen and managing directors of the Savoy Hotel up to 1989 | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′34″N 0°07′12″W﻿ / ﻿51.509498°N 0.119932°W﻿ / 51.509498; -0.119932﻿ (Savoy Hotel Centenary Memorial) | 1989 | Christopher Daniel | Hugh Casson | Armillary sphere and cistern | — | Inaugurated 30 March 1989. The inscriptions on the armilla include the hotel's motto ('FOR EXCELLENCE WE STRIVE') and lines from Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy opera, Ruddigore (1887): EVERY SEASON HAS ITS CHEER'/ 'LIFE IS LOVELY ALL THE YEAR'. |
| More images | Statue of Michael Faraday | Savoy Place 51°30′36″N 0°07′08″W﻿ / ﻿51.509883°N 0.118883°W﻿ / 51.509883; -0.118883﻿ (Statue of Michael Faraday) | 1989 | John Henry Foley and Thomas Brock | — | Statue | — | Unveiled 1 November 1989. Cast of an 1874 marble sculpture in the Royal Institution, completed by Brock after Foley's death. The original gilding has worn away entirely. |
| More images | Memorial to the Chindits | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′12″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.503302°N 0.124009°W﻿ / 51.503302; -0.124009﻿ (Chindit Memorial) | 1990 | Frank Forster | David Price | Statue | Grade II | Unveiled 16 October 1990. Crowned with a bronze Chinthe or Burmese temple guardian, the Chindits' namesake. Medallions to the front and rear reproduce the force's badge and the portrait of their founder Orde Wingate. |
| More images | Lady Henry Somerset Memorial | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Main Garden 51°30′40″N 0°06′45″W﻿ / ﻿51.5112°N 0.1125°W﻿ / 51.5112; -0.1125﻿ (Lady Henry Somerset Memorial Fountain) | 1991 | Philomena Davidson Davis after George Edward Wade | — | Drinking fountain with statue | Grade II | Unveiled 29 May 1897. Wade's original sculpture for the temperance campaigner's memorial was stolen in 1971; it was replaced by Davis's replica only in 1991. |
| More images | Fleet Air Arm Memorial (Daedalus) Royal Naval Air Service and Fleet Air Arm | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Ministry of Defence section 51°30′15″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.504038°N 0.123974°W﻿ / 51.504038; -0.123974﻿ (Fleet Air Arm Memorial) | 2000 | James Butler | Trehearne and Norman | Statue | — | Unveiled 1 June 2000 by the Prince of Wales (the future Charles III). The figure of Daedalus as a modern pilot reflects on his fallen comrades. He stands atop a column which rises out of a plinth reminiscent of the prow of a ship. |
| More images | Battle of Britain Monument | Victoria Embankment, near Richmond Terrace 51°30′11″N 0°07′24″W﻿ / ﻿51.503017°N 0.123425°W﻿ / 51.503017; -0.123425﻿ (Battle of Britain Monument) | 2005 | Paul Day | Tony Dyson | Memorial with sculpture | — | Unveiled 18 September 2005 by the Prince of Wales (the future Charles III). Adapted from a Victorian granite plinth which originally housed a ventilator for the Underground. |
| More images | Korean War Memorial | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′13″N 0°07′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.5036°N 0.1239°W﻿ / 51.5036; -0.1239﻿ (Korean War Memorial) | 2014 | Philip Jackson | — | Memorial with statue | — | Unveiled 3 December 2014. A statue of a British soldier stands in front of a Portland stone obelisk on a base of Welsh slate. The memorial is a gift of the Republic of Korea. |
| More images | Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial | Victoria Embankment Gardens, Whitehall Garden 51°30′12″N 0°07′27″W﻿ / ﻿51.5034°N 0.1243°W﻿ / 51.5034; -0.1243﻿ (Iraq and Afghanistan Memorial) | 2017 | Paul Day | — | Memorial with sculpture | — | Unveiled 9 March 2017 by Elizabeth II. |