The Forgotten Statues

In one of the busiest and most culturally important destinations in the country lies one of the most famous statues that was never built. The statue meant for the fourth plinth, made starkly obvious by its absence. Unnoticed by the millions of people who visit the site yearly, there are two other prominent statues in Trafalgar Square that were never built.

Hidden in plain sight, on Admiralty Arch, at the mouth of The Mall that leads to Buckingham Palace itself, enormous blocks of Portland Stone jutting out of the building that never realised their potential of being carved into the statues for which they were intended.

The Intended Statues

In 2024, we took up the mallet and embarked on completing the vision, originally imagined by the architect Aston Webb in 1912.  Luckily for us, Webb left behind comprehensive drawings of the statues he intended to flank the arch.

After developing a profile view based on these drawings we set about creating a sketch model, adopting the style of Thomas Brock (who carved the other statues on the building) to determine the pose and obtain planning approval.  

Then began the undertaking of one of our most challenging projects so far.

The Challenge

These monumental statues towering at 9ft tall, had to be made from four mammoth blocks of Portland Stone, each weighing approximately 2 tons. There was debate at the beginning about carving them from the original blocks that remained in situ on the building, speckled with shrapnel marks from the Second World War. We decided against it, logistically easier and ten times more comfortable to work from the safety of our studio and carefully extract the old blocks from the building, a similar procedure to delicately removing enormous teeth from the mouth of the arch. Not something you want to mess up.  

Having received approval for the wax maquette, we employed the use of modern technology. Using a digital scan we enlarged it in order to create an armature from which to build a full-size clay model. The model in turn would be cast into plaster. There being two statues, one on either side of the arch, each a reverse of the other, we again scanned and printed the full-size model, digitally mirrored, an invaluable tool which we could use to carve from.  

Through the winter, all four of us worked from our two studios based in London and Somerset. We carved the gargantuan statues without ever being able to see them fully assembled before installation. Lying on the cold floor to try and gain an idea of the perspective at which they would be seen in when viewed from 12 meters below. Bodies aching from carving away the sheer bulk of stone that had to be removed in order to reveal the statues within.

The Grand Finale

After many months of toil, the blocks were finally carved and ready to be taken into central London to be installed. Not wanting to risk someone else transporting the precious cargo, we delivered the statues ourselves block by block through the centre of the city, down the mall and into the most high-tech and high-security site we had ever seen. Having removed the original blocks from the building and driven them back to Somerset, we finally assembled the statues, pointed them, and added the finishing touches… Still hidden from the public eye, the statues await the completion of the rest of the building.

It will be a momentous occasion when we are able to stand in Trafalgar Square and view our efforts with the luxury of distance….and maybe a glass of something…