Statue

(lost) Robert Milligan statue

Erection date: 1812

Inscription

{At the base of the statue:} Robert Milligan

{The front panel of the plinth has a relief tableau of a seated helmeted figure and a female figure with three cherubs.}

{Rear panel of the plinth:}
To perpetuate on this spot the memory of Richard Milligan, a merchant of London, to whose genius, perseverance and guardian care the surrounding great work principally owes it's {sic} design, accomplishment and regulation, the directors and proprietors, deprived by his death on the 21st May 1809 of the continuance of his invaluable services, by their unanimous vote have caused this statue to be erected.

Site: Robert Milligan statue (1 memorial)

E14, West India Quay

This statue used to be at the main gate but was removed in 1943, presumably to avoid bomb damage. Reinstated here in 1997 by the Dockland development.

9 June 2020: Responding to the 'Black Lives Matter' protests, this statue was removed by the Canal and River Trust. A local councillor had said "Those who benefited from the enslavement of innocent and tortured individuals, do not deserve the honour of a statue." And, within days, it was gone.

March 2021: Dennis Jenner let us know that Tower Hamlets are consulting on what should now happen to the statue and its plinth.

March 2022: A media release from the Museum of London announced "A bronze sculpture of the merchant and slave trader Robert Milligan, removed from West India Quay in June 2020, will join the collections of the Museum of London. .. where it can be fully contextualised."

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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:
Robert Milligan statue

Subjects commemorated i

Robert Milligan

Merchant. Born in Dumfries. He grew up on his family's sugar plantation in Ja...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Robert Milligan statue

Created by i

Sir Richard Westmacott

Sculptor. Born Grosvenor Square. One of the Commissioners for the Great Exhib...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Burlington House - Wren

Burlington House - Wren

W1, Piccadilly, Royal Academy

This building is commonly known as the Royal Academy (of Arts). The wings of the building are occupied by a number of learned societies, ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Boadicea/Boudicca/Boudica

Boadicea/Boudicca/Boudica

SW1, Westminster Bridge

The horses look totally out of control to us; no wonder the two daughters look so worried.

1 subject commemorated, 5 creators
Windrush Hackney statue

Windrush Hackney statue

E8, Mare Street, hackney Town Hall

The title is 'Warm Shores'. From Hackney: "The two 9ft bronze figures are based on digital 3D images of over 30 Hackney residents with a ...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
Sir Keith Park

Sir Keith Park

SW1, Waterloo Place

A resin version of this statue was temporarily installed in Trafalgar Square on the 'fourth plinth' on 4 November 2009.

2 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
Edward VII statue - lost

Edward VII statue - lost

NW1, Euston Road, 160, Evergreen House

Mapping Sculpture, Sitwell and the eBay Centenary Book all give Hampton as the sculptor. The banishment of this statue from London out t...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators