‘England and America,’ said George Bernard Shaw, ‘are two countries separated by a common language.’ The links between the two allies go back to The Mayflower, which left with the Pilgrim Fathers in 1621 to found a colony in the ‘New World’.
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Texas Embassy
After Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, the new country sent a Charge d'Affaires to the Court of St James’s. This, the closest embassy to the palace, was in offices rented from Berry Bros. London’s last duel is said to have been in this alleyway.
Pickering Place SW1
Tube: Green Park
Abraham Lincoln
Irish-born sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) created this statue for Lincoln Park, Chicago. This copy - a last-minute replacement for one by George Barnard (now in Manchester) - was presented to Britain by America in 1920 to mark 100 years of peace between the English-speaking peoples.
Parliament Square SW1
Tube: Westminster
Roosevelt & Churchill
Called 'Allies', this statue by Lawrence Holofcener was unveiled in 1995 by the Bond Street Association to mark 50 years of peace. After their stand against Nazism in World War II, the two men helped found the United Nations. Churchill’s mother was American and he and FDR were distant cousins.
Bond Street W1
Tube: Bond Street
Captain John Smith
Captain Smith, a parishioner of St Mary-le-Bow, was one of the first colonists of Jamestown, Virginia, and one of its leaders. He is best known for his connection to Pocahontas, the young Native American woman who saved his life when her tribe captured him.
Bow Churchyard EC4
Tube: Mansion House
The Grosvenor Chapel
First opened in 1731, this church has had a varied history, with much tinkering to its appearance over the centuries. It was the model for many of the churches of New England and, during World War II, was the place of worship for the American forces in London.
24 South Audley Street W1
Tube: Bond Street
www.grosvenorchapel.org.uk
Eisenhower Statue
Sculptor Robert Lee Dean’s statue, unveiled in 1989, stands opposite the building where General Eisenhower planned the D-Day Landings of World War II. The memorial was paid for by the citizens of Kansas City - Dwight Eisenhower was from the Kansas City area.
Grosvenor Square W1
Tube: Bond Street
Roosevelt Memorial
It took a mere six days to raise by public subscription the money for this memorial to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It shows him standing - even though in life his legs were paralysed from the age of 39. Unveiled in 1948 by Eleanor Roosevelt, the statue is by Sir William Reid Dick (1878-1961).
Grosvenor Square W1
Tube: Bond Street
Benjamin Franklin House
Now a museum to Franklin, this 1730s terrace house is where he lived from 1757 until the start of the American Revolution in 1775. Besides his political work, ‘the father of electricity’ used it to study science and to write. Nearby (No.25) is the former home of Herman Melville (Moby Dick).
36 Craven Street WC2
Tube: Charing Cross
