Piccadilly Circus Statue
Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Piccadilly Circus
If you have ever been to or seen a picture of Piccadilly Circus, London, two details would have caught your attention:
1. The huge advertising screens
2. The statue of Eros in the middle of the square
Well, I am sorry to disappoint you dear reader, but the statue doesn’t depict Eros. It does, in fact, depict Anteros! In Greek mythology, Anteros was the god of requited love and punished those who failed to reciprocate another’s love. Ouch.
HISTORY
The correct way to refer to this gorgeous statue adorning the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus is Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain.
The statue was masterfully crafted by sculptor Alfred Gilbert in 1893 as a memorial for Anthony Ashley – Cooper, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury and his philanthropic work. One of Lord Ashley’s biggest achievements was to replace child labour with school education.
It is said that the statue was modelled after the 15-year-old Gilbert’s assistant, Angelo Colarossi. It was the first statue in London to be crafted in aluminium.
When the statue was unveiled, not everyone was impressed: some thought that the location was not an affluent enough part of town, and others thought that the statue itself was not sophisticated enough, and even a tad vulgar. There were attempts to rename the statue Angel of Christian Charity – the name never stuck.
But, as we know, haters gonna hate, and the Eros/Anteros statue remains one of the most recognisable Piccadilly landmarks over a century after being unveiled.
The statue, however, has not always been in Piccadilly Circus. In the 1920s it was moved over to Embankment Gardens whilst the new Piccadilly Circus tube station was built.
It was moved again during WW2 just to be returned to its original location in 1947. It hasn’t been moved since.
RECENT HISTORY
Sadly, the statue has attracted some vandalism throughout the decades - this is why we can’t have nice things!
In an attempt to protect it from further vandalism the statue was covered by a gigantic PVC snowflake dome back in 2013.
Unfortunately, the PVC structure collapsed, and it didn’t return the following year.
