Relief

Lloyds of London 1958 building

Inscription

{At bottom right:}
James Woodford R.A.

Phillip Ward-Jackson in his encyclopaedic "Public Sculpture in the City of London" identifies these reliefs as representing the four elements, clockwise from top left: Fire, Air, Earth, Water. In Water the female figure rings the Lutine Bell, which actually happens in Lloyd of London whenever a ship goes down (although the ringer is probably a man with more clothes on). There were 85 other (smaller) pieces of Woodford's work on this building. Let's hope they also have been rescued and are perhaps on display inside the Willis building.

Site: Lloyds of London 1958 building (1 memorial)

EC3, Gracechurch Street

From Wikipedia "In the 1950s Woodford made a set of reliefs representing the four elements for the Lloyds building in Lime Street in the City of London. They were placed very high up; Arthur Byron in "London's Statues" describes them as "barely visible."[7] Following the demolition of the building they were installed on a wall at street level as part of the landscaping of the Willis Building on the same site."

2023: The Guardian reported: "The insurance titan Lloyd’s of London, multibillion pound cornerstone of the City’s wealth, power and renown, has taken steps since 2020 to admit its immense historic involvement in slavery, and has published powerful research on the evidence in its archives."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Lloyds of London 1958 building

Subjects commemorated i

Lloyd's of London 1958 building

Occupied the Lime Street, Billiter Street and Fenchurch Avenue block. The sec...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Lloyds of London 1958 building

Created by i

James Woodford

Sculptor,RA. James Arthur Woodford, born Nottingham. There are some lovely ex...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Six clasped hands and a golden ball

Six clasped hands and a golden ball

E1, Chilton Street, 52, St. Matthias Church House

Under the gable is a relief showing a surreal image: three arms each with a hand at both ends, with the six hands clasped in such as way ...

National Provincial Bank at Bishopsgate

National Provincial Bank at Bishopsgate

EC2, Bishopsgate, Gibson Hall

From Wikipedia "The Gibson Hall is a Grade I listed building on Bishopsgate in the City of London. The building is named after its archit...

2 subjects commemorated
St John's Primary School - rebuilt

St John's Primary School - rebuilt

N5, Conewood Street, St John's Highbury Vale

Our research into the history of the school convinces us that the blank section of ribbon must have read "Christ Church" which was the sc...

1 subject commemorated
CI - 7 - Coffee

CI - 7 - Coffee

EC3, Cornhill, 32

The carved doors are at the right of the building, behind the cyclist in our picture.  According to Esoteric London these panels, listed ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Henry Doulton's pottery

Henry Doulton's pottery

SE1, 26 Black Prince Road

Vauxhall History gives: "Doulton worked closely with the renowned Lambeth School of Art and several well-known artists worked for the fir...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 creators

Previously viewed

J. H. Wall
War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Craft School - Globe Road

Craft School - Globe Road

E2, Globe Road, Globe Road Open Space

The west, road, side of this plaque carries a relief, by Winifred Turner, showing a bearded blind man being guided by a child - see photo...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators