A new book uncovers a quiet revolution in stone and bronze, the growing number of statues honouring remarkable women across the capital
For centuries, London’s cityscape has been shaped by statues of male soldiers, statesmen and monarchs. But that’s changing. As recently as 2021, fewer than one in six of the capital’s public statues commemorated named women. Since then, however, more statues honouring women have been unveiled than in the entire second half of the 20th century. In 2023, the balance tipped for the first time, as more women than men were commemorated in new statues.
The range of honourees is inspiringly broad. From Amy Winehouse, to World War II spy Noor Inayat Khan; from 1960s fashion icon Twiggy, to the UK’s first female surgeon. Even Queen Elizabeth II only received her first London statue in 2023. Joy Battick, the first woman of colour to have a statue in the capital, now has two—making her just the second non-royal, after Virginia Woolf, to be honoured in this way.
These sculptures do more than decorate the city, they reshape its story. Each woman depicted stands as a symbol of progress, resilience and creativity. And as their presence grows, so too does the promise of a more inclusive public space where every Londoner can see themselves reflected.
In a new book, Juliet Rix explore this shift through a tour of the capital. Here are five of the author’s favourite statues, and the powerful stories behind them.
Joy Battick – Platforms Piece (1986) and Joy II (2023) by Kevin Atherton Brixton Railway Station, above Brixton Market.
The first statue shows a pensive 26-year-old Joy in the wake of the Brixton riots. The second, unveiled 36 years later, captures her as a smiling, warm 60-something. Installed across the platform from each other, the two Joys appear locked in a moment of reflection across time and life experience. When Atherton reconnected with her in 2022, she was just emerging from breast cancer treatment. Their reunion, and the second sculpture, brought new meaning to the word “immortalised.”
Elizabeth I – unknown sculptor, date unknown, either 1586 (for Ludgate’s Elizabethan renovation) or post 1666 Great Fire reconstruction. Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street.
Elizabeth I – unknown sculptor, date unknown, either 1586 (for Ludgate's Elizabethan renovation) or post 1666 Great Fire reconstruction Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street. Image: Rod Standing
London’s oldest surviving statue of a named woman is fittingly one of its most resilient. Queen Elizabeth I, whose life was marked by political peril and personal loss, ruled alone for 45 years in a world dominated by men. Her likeness, possibly sculpted during her lifetime, once stood above Ludgate, one of the City of London’s historic gateways. It survived the Great Fire and was salvaged from a pub basement in 1839.
The statue was restored and reinstalled in 1928, unveiled by suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett in the very month that women finally gained equal voting rights. A lifelong admirer of Elizabeth, Fawcett left £70 in her will to ensure the statue’s upkeep.
Millicent Fawcett – by Gillian Wearing, 2018. Parliament Square.
It took another century, but Fawcett herself eventually took her place in Parliament Square, the first woman to do so alone. Her statue faces directly toward the House of Commons, where she fought tirelessly for women’s suffrage through peaceful, legal means. While her more militant counterpart, Emmeline Pankhurst, was honoured with a statue in 1930 in the gardens next to the House of Lords, Fawcett’s quieter but no less effective legacy was finally recognised in bronze in 2018.
Girl with a Dolphin – by David Wynne, 1973. North end of Tower Bridge (east side of the road by the Thames).
Fifty years after its unveiling, it emerged the woman in this sculpture was Virginia Wade, the famously reserved tennis champion and the last British woman to win Wimbledon. Image: Juliet Rix
This joyful sculpture of a woman diving toward a dolphin radiates freedom and lightness. Despite its title, this is clearly a woman – not a girl – and the identity of the model remained a mystery for decades. Fifty years after its unveiling, the secret came out: it was none other than Virginia Wade, the famously reserved tennis champion and the last British woman to win Wimbledon, who turned 80 in July.
Ada Lovelace – by Mary & Etienne Millner, 2022. Millbank Quarter, Horseferry Road, Westminster.
A pioneer of computing before computers even existed, Ada Lovelace described her groundbreaking work as 'poetical science'. Image: Rod Standing
A pioneer of computing before computers even existed, Ada Lovelace described her groundbreaking work as “poetical science.” Collaborating with Charles Babbage on his early mechanical computer, she was dubbed “the enchantress of numbers.” Lovelace’s bronze likeness stands backed by gilded punch cards, honouring her legacy in the digital age.
Daughter of the notorious Lord Byron, Ada was no stranger to controversy herself. Her life and legacy are now celebrated each October on Ada Lovelace Day, which honours women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Her statue is a welcome and long-overdue addition to London’s streets.
Main image: Juliet Rix
London’s Statues of Women by Juliet Rix is available to buy here
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