Sculpture

Caryatid - right

Erection date: 4/6/2011

Site: Caryatids (2 memorials)

SE16, Southwark Park

A nearby information board informs:

The Caryatides of Rotherhithe Old Town Hall
Designed and constructed {* see our note below} by Henry Poole RA and opened on April 28th 1897, the Town Hall was sited on the corner of Neptune Street and Lower Road, with the rear of the building on Moodkee Street. These caryatides originally flanked the main entrance of the old Rotherhithe Town Hall, which in 1905 was converted into a library. The building was severely damaged by the German air raids of the second world war and subsequently demolished. the caryatides remained on their original site until 1974 when they were relocated within the Heygate Estate just off the New Kent Road. In 2009 the caryatides were removed when demolition of the estate commenced, and located back here in Rotherhithe in 2011.

About the Caryatides
Caryatides are a Greek architectural support in the form of a female figure which replaces the column or pillar. The significant differences between the two caryatides is one is detailed with oak and the other laurel. Oak is often seen as an emblem of virtue, strength, resiliency, longevity and rebirth. Laurel is a token of peace and quiet but also a symbol of triumph and fame.

* Note: Poole was not an architect, he designed and created these caryatides, not the building, which was the work of Murray and Foster. 

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:
Caryatid - right

Subjects commemorated i

Rotherhithe Old Town Hall

 Built in 1895 by the architects Murray and Foster.  The caryatides can be se...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Caryatid - right

Created by i

Henry Poole

Architectural sculptor. Born Westminster. Son of architectural sculptor Samue...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Caryatid - right

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Tattersall's auction yard

Tattersall's auction yard

SW1, Knightsbridge Green, 1, Caltex House

This sculpture 'Triga' recalls the racehorses that were bought and sold on this site while it was occupied by Tattersalls for almost 75 y...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
War memorial - Walworth Square

War memorial - Walworth Square

SE17, Wansey Street, Walworth Square

This depicts an anonymous 12-year-old youth standing on a giant, fallen ash tree. The inscription is a line from a WW2 poem by Hamish Hen...

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Derwent Wood sculpture

Derwent Wood sculpture

SW3, Chelsea Embankment

Difficult to photograph this young lady without making it look as if she's shyly fingering her right nipple, which she's not.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
St Andrews - charity girl

St Andrews - charity girl

EC4, St Andrew Street, St Andrews Church - west door

This building is St Andrews Holborn. There has been a church here since at least 951 AD. It escaped the 1666 Great Fire but was so dilapi...

1 subject commemorated
Fame

Fame

S21, Renishaw, Renishaw Hall

The statue glistens with recent gilding. This was first done in 2002 in honour of the Golden Jubilee, by Lady Sitwell (1923 - ), the moth...

4 creators