List of public art formerly in London facts for kids

An 18th-century painting of the Stocks Market in London, showing the statue of Charles II.

This article is about public artworks that used to be in London but are no longer there. Some were destroyed, and others were moved to different places. We won't include artworks that just moved to a new spot within London, or temporary art displays. But if an old statue was replaced by a new one, we'll talk about the original here.

Artworks That Are Gone or Moved Away

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Architect / other	Type	Designation	Notes
	The Charing Cross For Eleanor of Castile	Charing Cross	1291– c. 1294	Abingdon, AlexanderAlexander Abingdon	Richard of Crundale and Roger of Crundale	Commemorative cross	N/A	This was a very fancy cross built to mark where Queen Eleanor's funeral procession stopped. It was destroyed in 1647 by order of Parliament.
	The Cheapside Cross For Eleanor of Castile	Cheapside	1291–1293	?	Michael of Canterbury	Commemorative cross	N/A	This cross was rebuilt in 1441. It was damaged in 1581 and 1600, and finally taken down on May 2, 1643.
	Statue of Charles II trampling Cromwell	Stocks Market	17th century	?	?	Statue on horseback	Grade II	This statue first showed a Polish king and a defeated Turk. In 1675, a man named Sir Robert Vyner bought it and had the king's head changed to look like King Charles II. In 1739, it was moved to make way for the Mansion House. Since 1883, it has been at Newby Hall in Yorkshire.
	Statue of George I	Leicester Square	1722 c. 1722	Nost the Elder, JohnJohn Nost the Elder	N/A	Statue on horseback	N/A	This was a gold-colored lead copy of another statue. It was bought in 1747 and placed in Leicester Square the next year. Over time, it was damaged and neglected. By the late 1800s, only the horse part was left, and it was sold.
	Statue of George I	Grosvenor Square	1722 c. 1722	Nost the Elder, JohnJohn Nost the Elder	N/A	Statue on horseback	N/A	This statue was also made of lead and was likely from the same design as the one in Leicester Square. It was bought in 1725.
	Statue of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland	Cavendish Square	1770	Cheere, 1st Baronet, Sir HenrySir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet	N/A	Statue on horseback	N/A	A full-size statue of the Duke was put up in Cavendish Square in 1770. It was removed in 1868 and melted down. In 2012, a soap copy was placed on the empty base and slowly wore away over a year.
	Isis and Osiris	Front of the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly; later at London Wall	1811	Gahagan, LawrenceLawrence Gahagan	Bullock, WilliamWilliam Bullock (original setting)	Statues	N/A	The Egyptian Hall was torn down in 1905. The statues were moved outside the Museum of London in 1994, but as of 2023, they are kept in storage.
	Statue of Robert Milligan	Museum of London Docklands, Hertsmere Road	1813	Westmacott, RichardRichard Westmacott	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue was first placed at the West India Docks. It was moved several times and put back in its original spot in 1997. In 2020, it was removed due to public discussions about historical figures and fairness.
	The King's Cross For George IV	Kings Cross 51°31′51″N 0°07′17″W / 51.5307°N 0.1215°W / 51.5307; -0.1215 (The King's Cross)	1836	?	Geary, StephenStephen Geary	Memorial with sculptures	N/A	This structure was meant to be a national memorial to King George IV, and it gave the area its name, Kings Cross. Many people didn't like it, and it was torn down in 1845.
	Figurehead from HMS Britomart	Above a shop near Kew Gardens station	1840s	unknown	N/A	Architectural sculpture	N/A	This figurehead (the carved figure at the front of a ship) was put above a shop in 1960. The shop owner had saved it from the ship after it burned in the 1930s. After the shop changed owners in the 2000s, the figurehead was removed.
	Statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner	1840–1846	Wyatt, Matthew CotesMatthew Cotes Wyatt	Burton, DecimusDecimus Burton	Statue on horseback	Grade II	This huge statue was placed on the Wellington Arch in 1846. It was thought to be too big and not very artistic. It was moved to Aldershot, Hampshire, in 1883 when the arch was changed.
	Statue of James McGrigor	Atterbury Street, Millbank (1909–2003)	1865	Noble, MatthewMatthew Noble	N/A	Statue	Grade II	Unveiled in 1865 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. It was moved in 1909 to a new building, which later became an art college. In 2003, the statue was moved again to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
	Bust of William Hogarth	Leicester Square	1874	Durham, JosephJoseph Durham	Knowles, JamesJames Knowles	Bust	Grade II	This was one of four busts (head and shoulders statues) of famous people who lived nearby. They were installed when the gardens were redesigned. This bust was removed between 2010 and 2012.
	Bust of John Hunter	Leicester Square	1874	Woolner, ThomasThomas Woolner	Knowles, JamesJames Knowles	Bust	Grade II	John Hunter was a surgeon who lived near Leicester Square. This bust was also removed between 2010 and 2012.
	Bust of Isaac Newton	Leicester Square	1874	Marshall, William CalderWilliam Calder Marshall	Knowles, JamesJames Knowles	Bust	Grade II	Isaac Newton, a famous scientist, lived nearby. This bust was also removed between 2010 and 2012.
	Bust of Joshua Reynolds	Leicester Square	1874	Weekes, HenryHenry Weekes	Knowles, JamesJames Knowles	Bust	Grade II	Joshua Reynolds was a famous painter. This bust was also removed between 2010 and 2012.
	Poets' Fountain Featuring Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and John Milton	Hamilton Place	1875	Thornycroft, ThomasThomas Thornycroft	N/A	Fountain with sculptures	N/A	This fountain, with statues of famous poets and figures like Fame, was opened in 1875. It was damaged by bombs during World War II and taken apart in 1948. Most of its parts are now lost.
	Afghan and Zulu War Memorial	Repository Road, Woolwich 51°28′57″N 0°03′16″E / 51.4824°N 0.0545°E / 51.4824; 0.0545 (Afghan and South African War Memorial)	1881/3?	Gleichen, CountCount Gleichen	N/A	Stone structure with sculpture	Grade II	This memorial was moved to Larkhill Garrison in Wiltshire sometime after 2008.
	Statue of Napoléon, Prince Imperial	Royal Military Academy, Woolwich	1883	Gleichen, CountCount Gleichen	N/A	Statue	Grade II	Unveiled in 1883, this statue is now at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
	Memorial to Henry Fawcett	Vauxhall Park	1893	Tinworth, GeorgeGeorge Tinworth	N/A	Sculptural group	N/A	This sculpture was a gift and was unveiled in 1893. It was removed and destroyed in 1955.
	Statue of Hugh Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn	Intersection of Knightsbridge and Brompton Road	1895	Ford, Edward OnslowEdward Onslow Ford	N/A	Statue on horseback	N/A	Unveiled in 1895, this statue was made from guns captured during the Indian Mutiny. It was taken down in 1931 for subway work and kept in storage. In 1964, it was sold and now stands in Liphook, Hampshire.
	Statue of Queen Victoria	Doulton pottery works, Albert Embankment	1900	Broad, JohnJohn Broad	N/A	Statue	N/A	This terracotta statue stood here until 1910 when it was removed for road work and destroyed.
	Statue of Queen Victoria	Royal Military Academy, Woolwich	1904	Price, HenryHenry Price	N/A	Statue	Grade II	This statue was moved to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in 1947.
	Pearl Assurance War Memorial	Pearl Assurance head offices, 247–252 High Holborn	1919	Frampton, GeorgeGeorge Frampton	N/A	War memorial	Grade II*	Unveiled in 1921, this memorial shows Saint George. It was moved to the company's new headquarters in Peterborough in 1991.
	Bust of Haile Selassie	Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon	1936	Seligman, HildaHilda Seligman	N/A	Bust	N/A	This bust was destroyed by protesters on June 30, 2020. This event was connected to unrest in Ethiopia and discussions about fairness.
	La Belle Sauvage Pocahontas	Red Lion Square	1956	McFall, DavidDavid McFall	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue of Pocahontas was moved several times. It is believed to have been sold at an auction in 1996.
	Girls Playing Netball	Barnsbury (Girls) Secondary School, Islington	1958	Tennant, TrevorTrevor Tennant	N/A	Sculptural group	N/A	This sculpture has been missing since 1999, when part of the school was sold.
	Meridian	State House, High Holborn	1958–1960	Hepworth, BarbaraBarbara Hepworth	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This artwork was made specifically for this location. In 1990, State House was torn down, and Meridian was bought for a sculpture garden in New York.
	Cock	Crown Woods School, Eltham	1959	Meadows, BernardBernard Meadows	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was sold at an auction in 2004.
	The Watchers	University of Roehampton	1960	Chadwick, LynnLynn Chadwick	N/A	Sculptural group	Grade II	In 2006, one of the three figures in this sculpture was stolen.
	Faun with Goose	Sarel House, Tower Hamlets	1960	Ehrlich, GeorgGeorg Ehrlich	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture went missing during redevelopment of the site in the early 2000s.
	Birdman	Sedgehill School, Lewisham	1960	Frink, ElisabethElisabeth Frink	N/A	Statue	N/A
	Birds in Flight	Elm Court School, Tulse Hill	1960	Henghes, HeinzHeinz Henghes	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture, made for children to touch, was stolen from the school shortly after it was put on display.
	Drinking Calf	Garratt Green School, Wandsworth	1961	Ehrlich, GeorgGeorg Ehrlich	N/A	Sculpture	N/A
	The Swans	Ashburton Estate, Wandsworth	1961	Hermes, GertrudeGertrude Hermes	N/A	Sculptural group	N/A	This sculpture was stolen in the 1980s.
	Mother and Child	Sydenham Hill Estate	1961	Jonzen, KarinKarin Jonzen	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue was placed outside a community center. In 1970, it was reported stolen.
	Neighbourly Encounter	Silverwood Estate, Southwark	1961	Nimptsch, UliUli Nimptsch	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This artwork disappeared soon after it was installed.
	Stag	Stag Place, now Cardinal Place, Victoria	1963	Copnall, Edward BainbridgeEdward Bainbridge Copnall	Howard, Fairbairn & Partners	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was meant to remind people of the Stag Brewery that used to be on the site. It was moved in 1997 to a river walk in Maidstone.
	Fountains	Centre Point	1963	Dernbach-Mayen, JuppJupp Dernbach-Mayen	Seifert, RichardRichard Seifert and Partners	Fountains	Grade II	These fountains were removed in 2009 when the area in front of Centre Point was changed for a new construction project. The fountains were given to an architecture school.
	A Boy on a Dolphin	Roupell Court Old People's Home, Lambeth	1963	Nimptsch, UliUli Nimptsch	N/A	Bas-relief (sculpture carved into a flat surface)	N/A
	Relief sculpture	Northern Polytechnic Institute (now London Metropolitan University), Holloway Road, Islington	1964	Mitchell, WilliamWilliam Mitchell		Relief sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was torn down in 2004. A new building now stands on the site.
	Sun terrace	Hampstead Civic Centre	1964	Mitchell, WilliamWilliam Mitchell	Spence, BasilBasil Spence	Sculpted concrete sun terrace	N/A	This sun terrace was torn down in 2002.
	Bolted Flat	Lollard School, Southwark	1966	Hoskin, JohnJohn Hoskin		Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was taken apart in the late 1980s or early 1990s.
	Two Forms (Divided Circle)	Dulwich Park	1969	Hepworth, BarbaraBarbara Hepworth	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was stolen in December 2011.
	Neon Tower	Roof of the Hayward Gallery	1972	Vaughan, PhilipPhilip Vaughan	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was on the roof from 1972 to 2008, when it was taken down for repairs. The artist believes it should be put back permanently.
	The Towers of Hackney		1970s – 2009		N/A		N/A
	Fallow Buck	Coombe Road, Kingston upon Thames	1981	Wynne, DavidDavid Wynne	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue was stolen in 2009 and has never been found.
	Techtonic II	Opposite the entrance to Tower Three, London School of Economics	1984	Davies, Haydn LlewellynHaydn Llewellyn Davies	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture is no longer at this location as of 2013.
	The Leopard	Outside 20 Cannon Street; from 2009, Station Approach, Leatherhead, Surrey	1985	Kenworthy, JonathanJonathan Kenworthy		Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture was moved to the company's headquarters in 2009.
	Gates	111 Buckingham Palace Road 51°29′43″N 0°08′45″W / 51.495217°N 0.145709°W / 51.495217; -0.145709	1986	Lund, GiuseppeGiuseppe Lund	N/A	Gates	N/A	These gates, made of jagged aluminum, are no longer at this location as of 2017.
	The Artist as Hephaestus	34–36 High Holborn	1987	Paolozzi, EduardoEduardo Paolozzi	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue was made for the front of new offices. The original model for the statue is in the National Portrait Gallery. The statue itself was sold at an auction in 2012.
	Statues of famous musicians	Rock Circus (the London Pavilion), Piccadilly Circus	1989 c. 1989	Butler, JamesJames Butler		Statues		These statues of musicians like Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, and Madonna were part of the Rock Circus attraction.
	Subway murals	Elephant and Castle roundabout	1991–1994	Bratby, DavidDavid Bratby and others		Murals	N/A	These murals were destroyed around 2013.
	Statue of John Cass	Sir John Cass's Foundation, 31 Jewry Street	1998	After Louis-François Roubiliac	Cooksey, A. W.A. W. Cooksey	Statue	Grade II*	This copy of a statue was placed in a niche where the original once stood. In 2020, it was removed due to public discussions about historical figures and fairness.
	Under Circumstances	Outside 20 Manchester Square 51°31′01″N 0°09′13″W / 51.5170°N 0.1535°W / 51.5170; -0.1535 (Under Circumstances)	1999	Cragg, TonyTony Cragg	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	This sculpture, made of Belgian granite, was removed around 2016.
	The Climber	On roof of 43–45 Notting Hill Gate	2000	Logan, PeterPeter Logan		Kinetic architectural sculpture	N/A	The moving parts of this sculpture had to be removed in 2013 after a piece fell onto the pavement. The entire sculpture was removed around 2018.
	Statue of Terence Cuneo	London Waterloo station	2004	Jackson, PhilipPhilip Jackson	N/A	Statue	N/A
	One Nation Under CCTV	Newman Street, Fitzrovia	2008	Banksy	N/A	Mural	N/A	The artist Banksy created this work secretly. Westminster City Council later removed it as an example against graffiti.
	Statue of Michael Jackson	Craven Cottage, Fulham	2011	?	N/A	Statue	N/A	In 2014, this statue was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester.
	Alien	Grosvenor Gardens, Westminster	2012	David Breuer-Weil	N/A	Sculpture	N/A	In 2015, this sculpture was moved to a National Trust property in Hampshire.

• Before the current statue of Oliver Cromwell in Parliament Square, there was a different statue of Cromwell in another part of the square. It looked very similar to a statue now in Wythenshawe, Manchester, but it's not clear if they are the same or if one is a copy.

Artworks Replaced by Copies

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Architect / other	Type	Designation	Notes
	Statue of Queen Anne	St Paul's Churchyard	1712	Bird, FrancisFrancis Bird	?	Statue group	Grade II*	The statue outside St Paul's Cathedral was damaged over time. In 1885, it was removed and replaced by a copy. The original was moved to a location near Hastings in Sussex.
	Statue of Robert Geffrye	Geffrye Almshouses (now the Museum of the Home), Shoreditch	1724 c. 1724	Nost, JohnJohn Nost	?	Statue in niche	N/A	This statue was moved in 1912 when the almshouses were changed into a museum. A copy was put in its place that same year.
	Statue of Hans Sloane	Chelsea Physic Garden	1732–1737	Rysbrack, John MichaelJohn Michael Rysbrack	N/A	Statue	N/A	This statue was installed in 1737. It wore down over time and was moved to the British Museum in 1983. Several copies were made to replace it, with the latest one in Portland stone installed in 2014.
	Statue of John Cass	Aldgate High Street (1751–1869); Jewry Street (1869–c. 1919)	1751	Roubiliac, Louis-FrançoisLouis-François Roubiliac	Cooksey, A. W.A. W. Cooksey (final outdoor setting)	Statue	N/A	This original statue was moved indoors by 1919. In 1980, it was loaned to the Guildhall. A copy stood in its place at Jewry Street from 1998 to 2020.
	Statue of Anna Pavlova	Victoria Palace Theatre	1911	Matcham, FrankFrank Matcham (possibly)	N/A	Statue		This gold-colored statue of the ballerina Anna Pavlova was on the theater's dome. It was taken down to protect it during World War II and then got lost. A copy was put up in 2006.
	Woman with Fish	Cleveland Estate, Tower Hamlets (original); Millwall Park (replica, pictured)	1959	Dobson, FrankFrank Dobson	N/A	Sculpture	N/A
	Dr Salter's Daydream Alfred Salter	Cherry Gardens, Bermondsey 51°30′02″N 0°03′35″W / 51.50061°N 0.05973°W / 51.50061; -0.05973 (Dr Salter's Daydream)	2014	Gorvin, DianeDiane Gorvin	N/A	Sculptures	N/A	The seated statue of Alfred Salter was stolen in 2011. The figures of his daughter and her cat were saved. The new artwork includes an additional sculpture of Salter's wife.

Artworks Removed and Later Returned

• The statue of Charles II in Soho Square was moved away for many years to a private estate. It was returned to its current spot after the owner's widow decided to give it back to the square. It used to have four other statues representing British rivers, but their current location is unknown; they might be destroyed or buried.
• The Temple Bar Gate by Christopher Wren, with its statues, was moved from its original location in 1878. It was put back up in Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire. In 2004, the gate was moved again to a new spot in the City of London, becoming an entrance to the Paternoster Square area.

See also

• List of demolished buildings and structures in London
• Lost artworks