Heroes or villains? Parliament Square Statues Guided Tour

Memorialising individuals is a human commonplace. Pretty much all societies do it. The UK is no exception. The statues of Parliament Square are particularly significant, ranging from a bust of Charles I – looking across the street towards Hamo Thornycroft’s fearsome Oliver Cromwell, to the most recent figures to appear, those of Nelson Mandela and Gillian Wearing’s suffragist Millicent Fawcett. Other monuments have been placed in the Square and later removed. Some have been attacked, most recently during the iconoclasm of the Black Lives Matter period when Winston Churchill was attacked and Jan Smuts was placed in a protective wooden box.

The walk will take in some of these statues, why they are there in the first place, whether they should retain their pre-eminent position as fashions change, and whether they are legitimate targets for attack.

Meeting point: 13:40 at Dean’s Yard Entrance, Church House