Person    | Male 

Keith Bowler

Categories: Sculpture

Keith Bowler

We cannot find any information about Bowler himself, only that in c.1990-2010, at least, he lived in Wilkes Street Spitalfields and created these unusual pavement plaques. We understand they were created by making moulds from the actual items (scissors, apples, etc.).

Sponsored by the Bethnal Green City Challenge Company, Bowler designed and modeled 21 cast-iron roundels (with 20 different designs) for specific sites in Spitalfields. He had them cast at Hoyle & Sons Foundry in Cambridge Heath Road. Tower Hamlets council installed them in 1995 and produced an interpretative leaflet. We have not seen that but see lower down for Bowler's own booklet.

Over the years some plaques have gone missing and, before December 2016, at least one more plaque was installed: Freedom Press.

PMSA gives the background to the project and Spitalfields Life has interviewed Bowler. He has in his keeping some of the plaques which were removed and intends to re-place these and also remake the other lost ones. He may have a job for life.

As at January 2017 we had searched for and found 14 of the 22 plaques we know about. If you know where the others are, or have photos of them, please let us know. Are there any others we don't have listed?

August 2017: Prompted by Deborah Hart Stock we visited the London Metropolitan University's Special Collections and read the booklet held there: “The Spitalfields Roundels” by Keith Bowler, 2011, Wood Street Publishing. 50 pages. That lists 21 plaques, with 20 different designs, “Scissors and Buttons” being used twice. Two share the name “Silk Design” but they show different designs. Six are given as “missing”, in 2011. In the winter 2016/17 we failed to find one other: “Purse and Coins”. But also, we found one that the booklet does not mention: “Angel Anarchists” so that must have been laid post-2011. The booklet is well laid out and produced but is not always explicit about precisely what is being commemorated by the plaque. We have taken the names of the plaques from the booklet. Thanks to Lucy and Jeff at Special Collections for their assistance.

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

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Keith Bowler

Creations i

Bowler plaque - Apples and Pears

This cast-iron roundel is one of 22 - see Bowler's page for more details.

Read More

Bowler plaque - Arrows and Target

We failed to find this in 2014 and again Dec-Jan 2017. This cast-iron roundel...

Read More

Bowler plaque - Book, Children and Eight Pencils

The two figures are inspired by the figures shown on the wall relief. These d...

Read More

Bowler plaque - Decorated Hand

Mehndi is the use of henna to decorate hands etc. in India and neighbouring c...

Read More

Bowler plaque - Four Tankards

This cast-iron roundel, showing 4 tankards around an eagle motif, is one of 2...

Read More

Other Subjects

Sebastian Gahagan

Sebastian Gahagan

The brothers Lawrence and Sebastian Gahagan, sculptors of note in London between 1760 and 1820, were Irishmen called Geoghegan at home.

Person, Sculpture, Ireland

1 memorial
Raphael Maklouf

Raphael Maklouf

Born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family who emigrated to the UK after WW2. His designs have been used for coins in the UK and other countries.

Person, Sculpture, Israel/Palestine

1 memorial
Aimé-Jules Dalou

Aimé-Jules Dalou

Sculptor. Born and died in Paris. Fervent supporter of the Paris Commune. When this was suppressed he escaped to London in July 1871, and only returned to Paris in 1880 when pardoned in the general...

Person, Sculpture, France

1 memorial
Anne Seymour Damer

Anne Seymour Damer

Anne Seymour Damer (née Conway) was a sculptor, author, traveller, theatrical producer and actress. Honorary exhibitor at the Royal Academy 1784-1818. Divorced after 7 years of marriage, 2 years la...

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
William Mitchell

William Mitchell

Sculptor. He has worked in a vast variety of techniques and media, producing some grand-scale works. Among his London projects are the interior of the Curzon Cinema, Mayfair, the concrete frieze in...

Person, Sculpture

4 memorials

Previously viewed

Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat was a successful WW2 British deception operation to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. British intelligence obtained an unwanted body and took it to Hackney Mortuary w...

Event, Armed Forces, Espionage

2 memorials
London Bridge City

London Bridge City

We'd never heard of this but apparently it is a "prestigious estate" of over 93,000 sq m of office, retail, leisure and residential accommodation, including No 1 London Bridge, Hay’s Galleria Londo...

Group, Property

2 memorials
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu

Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu

Montagu and Charles Cholmondely conceived the idea behind Operation Mincemeat and carried it out. Ewen Edward Samuel Montagu was a British judge, Naval intelligence officer and author. Born into a...

Person, Armed Forces

1 memorial
Bombs 7 July 2005

Bombs 7 July 2005

In the middle of the morning rush hour four bombs went off on three tube trains, at 8.50am and a bus, at 9.47am. 52 people died. Plaques commemorating the victims have been placed at each of the b...

Event, Seriously Famous, Terrorism, Tragedy

12 memorials
Stanley Carter

Stanley Carter

Local politician. Born Bradford. Graduated from Ruskin College, Oxford. Served in the navy during WW2 and later worked in the newspaper industry for more than 20 years. First elected to Enfield Co...

Person, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration

1 memorial