The ''South Bank Lion'' is an 1837 sculpture in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. Since 1966 it has stood next to County Hall, on the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. It is a significant depiction of a lion, along with the four that surround

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

just across the river. The statue is about long and high, and weighs about . It was cast in 1837, the year of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's accession, of Coade stone, one of the earliest types of

artificial stone Artificial stone is a name for various synthetic stone products produced from the 18th century onward. Uses include statuary, architectural details, fencing and rails, building construction, civil engineering work, and industrial applications su ...

. The material is very resistant to weathering, and the fine details of the lion's modelling still remain clear after decades of exposure to the corrosive effects of London's severe

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...

, the infamous pea soup fog, prior to the passage of the

Clean Air Act 1956 The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted principally in response to London's Great Smog of 1952. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Heal ...

. The statue was made in separate parts and cramped together on an iron frame. It was formerly known as the Red Lion, as it was painted that colour between 1951 and 1966.

History

County Hall and the South Bank Lion - geograph

The lion was originally mounted on the parapet of James Goding's Lion Brewery on the Lambeth bank of the River Thames;

Hungerford Bridge The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (who use its official name of Charing Cross Bridge) it is a steel truss railway brid ...

spanned the Thames nearby from 1845. The Lion Brewery closed in 1924 and the building was demolished in 1949, to make way for construction of the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

as part of the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

. The lion was removed, revealing the initials of the sculptor

William Frederick Woodington William Frederick Woodington (10 February 1806 – 24 December 1893) was a notable English painter and sculptor. Life Woodington was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire (possibly at the Three Tuns in High Street), and was articled at the a ...

and the date, 24 May 1837, under one of its paws. It was painted red as the symbol of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

, and mounted on high plinth beside the entrance to the Festival of Britain near

Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...

. The statue was moved in 1966 to allow the station to be extended. The red paint was removed, and the statue was erected in its current location on a large granite plinth at the east end of

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...

, to the north side, beside County Hall. The plinth bears the inscription "The South Bank Lion". The statue was given a Grade II* listing by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 1981.

Other versions

The prototype for the Lion Brewery statue was made in wood, and was rediscovered in

Woburn, Bedfordshire Woburn (, meaning twisted or crooked stream) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway. At the 2011 census, it had a po ...

in the 1970s. It was moved to Cambridge, where it was displayed at the new Lion Yard shopping centre, which had been named after a pub at that location. From 1999 the statue was kept in storage until late 2014, when it was moved to Cambridge University Rugby Club's ground on

Grange Road, Cambridge Grange Road is a street in Cambridge, England. It stretches north–south, meeting Madingley Road ( A1303) at a T-junction to the north and Barton Road ( A603) to the south. It runs approximately parallel with the River Cam to the east. Gr ...

. A second, similar Coade stone lion was removed from the Lion Brewery when it was demolished. It stood on an arched gateway leading to a second brewery site on the south side of Belvedere Road, on the corner of Sutton Walk. It was presented to the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

in 1971, its centenary season, by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

and unveiled in 1972. It is now located above the central pillar of the

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solut ...

Memorial Gate (Gate 3) to the west of

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

. It was covered in

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

when England hosted the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

. The Lion Brewery also had a third Coade stone lion, over the arched entrance to the south of the main brewery site, on the north side of the Belvedere Road. It was present in 1930, but was missing for some years before the brewery was demolished, and is believed to have been destroyed. A recumbent Coade stone lion, made in 1821 to a different design by

Thomas Hardwick Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was an English architect and a founding member of the Architects' Club in 1791. Early life and career Hardwick was born in Brentford, Middlesex the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hard ...

for

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

, is mounted above the Lion Gate at Kew Gardens. It is partnered by a unicorn of the same material, which surmounts the corresponding gate. The Lion and the Unicorn were traditional symbols of England and Scotland respectively. File:The Lion Gate Statues at Twickenham Stadium.jpg, Gold lion and other statues at Twickenham Stadium File:Kew Gardens 0573.JPG, The Lion Gate at Kew Gardens

References

*
From brewery mascot to king of the bridge: South Bank Lion, Westminster Bridge, SE1
hidden-london.com
Coade Stone Lion, Waterloo Railway Station, Waterloo
lambeth.gov.uk

walklondon.com

victorianweb.org
Lion Brewery
The Vauxhall Society
Coade's Artificial Stone Works
in Survey of London: Volume 23, Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall, ed. Howard Roberts and Walter H Godfrey (London, 1951), pp. 58–61. British History Online
Lambeth Waterworks and Lion Brewery
in ''Survey of London: Volume 23'', Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall, ed. Howard Roberts and Walter H Godfrey (London, 1951), pp. 51–54. British History Online
Plate 32: Lion Brewery, north-west side of Belvedere Road, 1930
in Survey of London: Volume 23, Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall, ed. Howard Roberts and Walter H Godfrey (London, 1951), p. 32. British History Online
The Brewery At The End Of Sutton Walk
A London Inheritance
South Bank Lion
London Remembers
The South Bank Lion, Westminster Bridge
Public Monuments and Sculpture Association
Rugby Union Lion
Public Monuments and Sculpture Association

ESPN, 6 March 2014
The Story of the Lion
World Rugby Museum
Lion Gate
Kew Gardens
Cambridge Lion Yard lion roars again at university rugby club
BBC News, 27 November 2014 {{Public art in London, other works 1837 sculptures Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Lambeth Sculptures of lions Animal sculptures in the United Kingdom Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom

History

Other versions

See also

References