Statue of Margaret Thatcher (London Guildhall) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Statue of Margaret Thatcher |
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The repaired statue in September 2015
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| Artist | Neil Simmons |
| Year | May 1998 |
| Medium | Marble |
| Subject | Margaret Thatcher |
| Dimensions | 8-foot (2.4 m) |
| Weight | 1.8-tonne (2.0-short-ton) |
| Condition | rebuilt |
| Location | London, EC2 United Kingdom |
| 51°30′56″N 0°05′29″W / 51.5155664°N 0.0912595°W | |
The statue of Margaret Thatcher is a marble sculpture of Margaret Thatcher, who was a very important Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This statue is located in the Guildhall, London, a historic building in the City of London.
The statue was created in 1998 by a sculptor named Neil Simmons. It was ordered by a special group called the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art. An unknown person paid for the statue. The idea was for the statue to be placed in the Members' Lobby of the House of Commons, which is where members of Parliament meet. This area already had statues of other former Prime Ministers.
However, there was a rule that a statue could not be put in the House of Commons while the person it represented was still alive. So, the statue was temporarily placed in the Guildhall. Margaret Thatcher herself officially revealed the statue there in February 2002.
Damage to the Statue
On 3 July 2002, something unexpected happened to the statue while it was on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery. A person named Paul Kelleher damaged the statue. He used a metal pole to break off the statue's head.
After the statue was damaged, it was taken away from public display. Experts thought it would cost about £10,000 to fix it. Even though it could be repaired, some experts worried that it might not look exactly the same as before. The person responsible for the damage was held accountable for their actions.
A New Statue and Its Location
In 2003, a new statue of Margaret Thatcher was ordered. This one was made from a stronger material called silicon bronze. This new statue was created by sculptor Antony Dufort.
By this time, the rule about not having a statue of a living person in the House of Commons had changed. So, the new bronze statue was placed in the Members' Lobby, just as originally planned. Margaret Thatcher herself also unveiled this new statue.
The original marble statue, which had been damaged, was repaired. It is still kept at the Guildhall. For several years, it was in the Guildhall Art Gallery. Later, it was moved to a corridor in another part of the Guildhall building.
