The British Empire mythologised its explorers, the men (and a few women) who pushed the boundaries of the bits of the world map Britain could colour red. Here are some of the great names of world exploration, immortalised in sculpture.
Ernest Shackleton
This bronze of the heroic Antarctic explorer (1874-1922) was sculpted by Jagger in 1932. It stands in a niche outside the Royal Geographical Society. He is wrapped warmly in his Antarctic clothing, looking very cosy in winter, if a bit overheated in summer.
Exhibition Road SW8
Tube: South Kensington
Christopher Columbus
A young Christopher Columbus, maritime chart in his outstretched hand, has a comfy seat to rest on after all that sailing to the New World. The statue is a gift from the people of Spain in 1992 and the sculptor was Tomas Banuelos. A nice, very human, statue.
Belgrave Square SW1
Tube: Hyde Park Corner
Captain James Cook
‘Circumnavigator Of The Globe Explorer Of The Pacific Ocean He Laid The Foundations Of The British Empire In Australia And New Zealand Charted The Shores Of Newfoundland And Traversed The Ocean Gates Of Canada Both East And West.’
Admiralty Arch SW1
Tube: Charing Cross
Henry The Navigator
This lovely sculpture of Columbus’ sponsor makes him look very kind and interesting company. Prince Henry the Navigator was the son of King John I of Portugal. This is a very recent addition to this sculpture-rich square but perhaps the best one in it.
Belgrave Square SW1
Tube: Hyde Park Corner
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
David Livingstone
Clutching a Bible, the African explorer peers sternly around the corner of his niche on the RGS building, no doubt looking for somewhere else to ‘discover’ after stumbling on Victoria Falls. The pairing of Shackleton and Livingstone has led cabbies to call this ‘Hot And Cold Corner’.
Exhibition Road SW8
Tube: South Kensington
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Explorers
Robert Falcon Scott
Kathleen Scott's statue of her husband, the polar explorer, was set up here in 1915, three years after the death of Scott and his four companions on their return from the South Pole. 'Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell.’ Kathleen trained with Rodin in Paris.
Waterloo Place SW1
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
John Franklin
’To The Great Arctic Navigator And His Brave Companions Who Sacrificed Their Lives In Completing The Discovery Of The North-West Passage AD 1847-8.’ Did you know Charles Dickens grew his famous beard in 1857 to portray one of Franklin’s men on stage in a play by Wilkie Collins?
Waterloo Place SW1
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
