A Waterloo Artworks Walk
Route & what to see
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london-footprints.co.uk |
A 2 mile circular walk from Waterloo Station featuring the Blake Mosaics and St Thomas' Hospital. It does include some rather grotty thoroughfares!
Begin on the upper level of
Waterloo Station.
For the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo a new war
memorial to honour the 24,000 soldiers of the Anglo-Allied and
Prussian forces who were injured, died or went missing was
unveiled by the present Duke of Wellington in 2015. The
centrepiece is a giant replica of the Waterloo Campaign medal,
depicting Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory. It also features a
tribute to the fallen soldiers by the Iron Duke: “My
heart is broken by the terrible loss I have sustained in my old
friends and companions and my poor soldiers. Believe me, nothing
except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle
won.” There is also a stained glass coat of arms of the
SW Railway with places served carved in stone which was above a
station exit.
Go down to concourse level
and exit via Victory Arch
The Victory or Memorial Arch was built 1919-22. Bronze
plaques bear the names of 585 LSWR employees who lost their lives
in WWI. Outside are two sculptural groups, one dedicated to
Bellona and dated 1914 and the other, dated 1918, to Peace. An
inscription around the window between them reads 'Dedicated to
the employees of the company who fell in the war'. Above are the
names of the greatest fields of battle and below a clock in a
sunburst. Britannia is at the top of the building. The sculptor
was the other wise little known Charles Whiffen.
Cross to Mepham Street and
walk through the subway ahead
There are two mosaic panels: a train among 'The Bathers' and
a bus with Venus/Mona Lisa
Cross Waterloo Road to St
John's Church
South Bank Mosaics have premises in the crypt and a number
of works in the church garden.
Return to the station and go
long York Road. Just past Chichley Street go left along Leake
Street which becomes a tunnel under the railway.
This is a 'graffiti permitted' area. [flickr page]
Right at Lower Marsh then
cross Westminster Bridge Road into Carlisle Lane (under
railtracks)
The tunnel is decorated with mosaics based on Blake's epic
poem 'Innocence and Experience'.
Left along Centaur Street. Right at Hercules Road then left along Virgil
Street. Rejoin Carlisle Lane and go left
There are more Blake
mosaics along these streets.
Right at Hercules Road then
right along Lambeth Road. Enter Archbishop's Park on the right.
Take the path ahead edged with red bricks.
This Millenium Path features events from Lambeth's history.
Bear left towards the
children's playground.
Bower by Arthur de Mowbray (2013)
Continue along the path and
exit into Lambeth Palace Road. Cross and go left. Enter the
grounds of St Thomas' Hospital on the right.
The Tree of Life sculpture by Chris Plowman (2005) with
laser cut leaves and birds in steel represents growth,
regeneration and hope.
Enter the south wing
entrance on the left
The corridor that runs through this and the north wing is
lined with hand painted tiles by Doultons depicting children's
fairytales and nursery rhymes. They were made for the children's
wards c1900, relocated in 1968 and restored in 2008. At the north
end of the south wing is a mini museum and pharmacy display.
There are statues of Florence Nightingale (1958), Queen Victoria
(1873) and Edward VI (1739). St Thomas' history is depicted in a
textile work (2008) by Natasha Kerr. The stained glass is Window
on Life (2000) by Carole Nunes and Dr Jim Cohen. On the first
floor is the grade II listed hospital chapel.
Memorials in the chapel remember people who have played important roles in the hospital’s history, including: the terracotta triptych above the altar to Sir Henry Doulton, the ‘Good Samaritan’ relief by George Tinworth in memory of Sarah Wardroper, matron of St Thomas’ for 33 years, a statue of St Thomas Becket after whom the original hospital at London Bridge was named, a memorial to the nurses and junior medical officers who ‘died in the discharge of their duties and a memorial to Florence Nightingale who established the Nightingale Training School at St Thomas’.
Exit into the Millenium
Garden
This was designed by Robin Williams in 2000. It features a
glass aquasphere by Alison Armour.
Walk towards the river
On the left is a bomb damaged section of the hospital. The
statue is Sir Robert Clayton, Lord Mayor of London and President
of St Thomas' 1692-1707. The marble work of 1702 is by Grinling
Gibbons, more noted for his wood carving.
Walk right along the
riverfront to the Fountain Garden.
Looking towards the hospital entrance the two figures on the
bridge are Cross the Divide (2000) by Rick Kirby and there is a
small statue of King Edward VI who re-opened the hospital in 1551
by the entrance. The fountain is Revolving Torsion (1972) by Naum
Gabo on loan from the Tate Gallery. There is a new statue of Mary
Seacole by Martin Jennings (2016). The bronze disc behind it
bears an impression of the ground taken from the site in Crimea
where the Jamacian nurse ministered to British soldiers during
the war of 1853-6. There is a quote from Times war correspondent
William Russell.
Cross Westminster Bridge
Road
On the bridge is a large lion statue made of Coade Stone and
designed by WF Woodington. This was originally red and displayed
on the Red Lion Brewery building, demolished for the Royal
Festival Hall.
Continue along Belvedere
Road behind the County Hall building
The London Eye was designed by Julia Barfield and David
Marks and opened in 2000.
Walk through Jubilee Gardens
to the left
There is a statue group to the International Brigade by Ian
Walters to the 526 killed in the Spanish Civil War from Britain
and Ireland.
Walk along the riverfront to
the right
Jubilee Oracle is by Alexander (1980). There are ornate
lamps entwined with dolphins. The original ones, designed by John
Vulliamy, were only on the Victoria Embankment. Copies were made
for the south bank for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. The
colourful and odd-shaped benches are by Danish artist Jeppe Hein.
Go up the ramp under the
railway then right along the Festival Hall terrace
There is a bust of Nelson Mandela by Ian Walters.
Go down the steps and along
Concert Hall Approach opposite
Topolski’s ‘Memoir of the Century’, a 600'
artwork that presents a panoramic record of the twentieth century
is within a bar and cafe.
Cross York Road back to Waterloo Station
london-footprints.co.uk 2016
Resources
South Bank Mosaics [website]
Art at St Thomas' Hospital [PDF]