London has twice as many statues of animals than of named women

London has almost 1,500 monuments, more than a fifth of which are dedicated to named men (20.5%) but just 4% are dedicated to named women (Picture: Getty)

There are more statues of animals in London than there are of named women, an audit of the capital’s public artworks has revealed.

The city has almost 1,500 monuments, more than a fifth of which are dedicated to named men (20.5%) but just 4% are dedicated to named women.

The number of monuments featuring animals – almost 100 – is double that.

The majority of monuments dedicated to women are of royalty, with nine of the 19 statues of royal women depicting Queen Victoria.

Just 1% of London’s sculptures are dedicated to named people of colour; 0.9% are men of colour and 0.2% are named women of colour.

The earliest statue in the city to be dedicated to a woman of colour is the bust of Noor Inayat Khan which was erected less than a decade ago, in 2012, in Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, Camden.

The audit of the capital’s sculptures, which is the first of its kind, was carried out by Art UK and part-funded by City Hall.

It comes as Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has announced a £1m fund to champion diversity in the capital’s monuments and public spaces to make sure they better reflect the city as a whole.

The audit of the capital’s sculptures, which is the first of its kind, was carried out by Art UK and part-funded by City Hall (Picture: Getty Images)

The ‘Untold Stories’ programme will see grants of up to £25,000 available for projects to refresh public spaces.

The money can be used for murals, street art, street names, and other projects.

Mr Khan said: ‘London’s diversity is its greatest strength but for far too long our capital’s statues, street names and buildings have only shown a limited perspective on our city’s complex history. 

‘I’m determined to do everything I can to ensure our public realm presents a more complete picture of everyone who has made London the incredible city it is today.

‘That’s why I’ve launched a £1million fund to help the diverse communities who know our city best lead the way in celebrating our capital’s Untold Stories.’

In February, the mayor’s office announced the creation of a new Landmark Commission to improve diversity in London’s public spaces.

Among the panel members are the actor and producer Riz Ahmed, Jack Guinness founder of The Queer Bible, Eleanor Pinfield, director of Art on the Underground and Binki Taylor, a Brixton business owner.

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