Steerpike Steerpike

A guide to renaming London’s landmarks

Will Downing Street be renamed? (photo: Getty)

Yesterday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he was forming a new commission to investigate the landmarks, street names and statues of the capital, to see if they should be knocked down or renamed because of their racist past or links to the slave trade. The announcement came after a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down in Bristol by Black Lives Matter protestors this weekend.

Khan’s ‘Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm’ will examine various sites across London to see if they reflect the diversity of its population, and the mayor has indicated that it is not appropriate for certain figures to be memorialised in future. Already, the Commission has gained its first statue scalp, after a likeness of the slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands.

Mr Steerpike yesterday suggested at least one statue that could be pulled down by Khan – the figure of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square which he unveiled in 2018. But, if we are going to be really thorough, Mr S wondered if a wider selection of London’s landmarks should be examined for their immoral links.

To aid the Commission, Mr S has therefore begun to compile a list of landmarks that should be first for the chop. Readers are invited to add their own suggestions in the comment section.

London’s landmarks

Downing Street, named after George Downing, who defended from first-hand experience the economics of West-Indian slavery.

Buckingham Palace, built by John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, and his third wife Catherine Darnley, an illegitimate daughter of James II, a prominent Briton who was the founding governor and largest shareholder of the Royal African Company.

Fitzrovia, this well-heeled district of London celebrates the offspring of Charles II, a prominent Briton of the 17th century and a major investor in his brother’s Royal African Company.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

Topics in this article

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in