| Statue of James Henry Greathead | |
|---|---|
_-_177.JPG) The statue | |
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| Artist | James Butler |
| Subject | James Henry Greathead |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′48″N0°05′17″W / 51.51334°N 0.08795°W /51.51334; -0.08795 |
Thestatue of James Henry Greathead, designed byJames Butler, is installed outside theRoyal Exchange, where it conceals aventilation shaft. It was erected in 1994 on a traffic island in the middle ofCornhill,London, with traffic passing to either side, similar to the statue ofPrince Albert atHolborn Circus.[1] TheLondon Troops War Memorial is nearby.
James Henry Greathead was a South African civil engineer best known for his work on the railway lines now incorporated into theLondon Underground. Greathead was an engineer onthe London (City) & Southwark Subway, later theCity and South London Railway, and now part of theNorthern line, which has a station near to the statue atBank.
The bronze statue depicts a bearded Greathead wearing a broad-brimmed hat (an allusion to his South African origins) and carrying a coat over his right arm, holding a piece of paper which he is reading. It stands on a hollow ovalPortland stone base with granite plinth. The base bears a bronze plaque on one side depicting atunnelling shield with an inscription that credits Greathead as being the "inventor of the travelling shield that made possible the cutting of the tunnels of London'sdeep level tube system". (A part of the tunnelling shield used at Bank station was rediscovered during a refurbishment, and left visible painted red in a passageway leading to theWaterloo & City line.[2]) The other side of the base bears the carved stone badge of the City & South London Railway.
Visible in a gap between the statue and the base are the metal grilles of avent shaft installed at Bank Junction to meet safety standards introduced after theKing's Cross fire in 1987.[3] The statute was unveiled by theLord Mayor of London Sir Paul Newell on 17 January 1994.
