South Financial institution Lion, London
From:
thetidalthames.com/2019/09/29/londons-favourite-lion/
Standing majestically on the east aspect of Westminster Bridge is a white, sculptured lion wanting down over the visitors and the hundreds of commuters and vacationers that stream out and in of town each day.
Referred to as the South Financial institution Lion it has change into certainly one of London’s favorite landmarks because it was lifted onto its plinth in 1966. But its historical past doesn’t start there. It was sculpted by William F. Woodington for James Goding’s new Lion Brewery constructed on the South Financial institution between 1836 and 1837.
The imposing 5 storey brewery, designed by Francis Edwards, had a formidable river frontage dominating a stretch of the South Financial institution between the Hungerford railway and Westminster bridges. And Woodington’s 13 tonne lion, standing on prime of the brewery, supported on its substantial base, turned a widely known Thames-side landmark from the beginning. An engraving dated 1837 depicts an ‘aquatic competition’ on the Thames to have a good time the opening of the brewery and the lion is centre stage on prime of the constructing.
Londoners and guests observed it as they handed, amongst them Emile Zola, exiled from France, who remembered seeing it from the room the place he was staying on the Savoy. He describes the morning mist slowly parting, giving the impression that the lion was suspended in mid air. “It amused me significantly […] to see the British lion ready to bid us good day.”
The lion is made out of Coade stone a sturdy, very robust climate resistant synthetic stone that was manufactured near the brewery. Businesswoman Mrs. Eleanor Coade perfected the recipe and the firing course of, and her agency turned the very profitable Coade’s Synthetic Stone Manufactory. Believed to have been misplaced because the closure of the manufacturing facility within the mid-nineteenth century, the recipe has been rediscovered, improved, and is now manufactured by Coade Ltd. in Wiltshire.
Posted by .ilona. on 2023-04-18 10:25:36
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