Public Sculpture and Monuments Scheme

In partnership with English Heritage, and working closely with the Public Monuments and Sculptures Association and Tower Hamlets, the Heritage of London Trust is undertaking a pilot project to record and assess the condition of public sculptures and monuments in Tower Hamlets.

Both EH and HOLT are contributing £25,000 to this scheme, which was launched in October 2009. Some of this money will cover the costs of the pilot project in Tower Hamlets, and some funds have been set aside to offer small grants for the conservation and repair of public sculptures and monuments in Tower Hamlets and elsewhere in London. These small grants for repair could ultimately help encourage civic pride and local environmental projects, as well as promote an interest in local history.

It is hoped that the pilot project in Tower Hamlets, if successful, will construct a framework for assessment and repair of public sculpture and monuments across London, which can then be rolled out to other London boroughs in subsequent years.

For further details on the pilot scheme, or if you know of a public sculpture in Tower Hamlets that should be recorded, please contact the project coordinator, Mr Christopher Catling  (pictured below left) or telephone the HOLT office on 020 7730 9472. 

photos: top - Northumberland House Gateway. Dating from the early 18th century, this gate once stood in front of Northumberland House in the Strand (now demolished). It is now the entranceway for the Bromley by Bow Centre, St Leonard's Road. bottom right - Detail of relief sculpture of a worker with a blow torch, which adorns the form Poplar Municipal Hall in Bow Road, dating from the 1930s.