London's Biggest Heads

M@
By M@ Last edited 9 months ago
London's Biggest Heads
Karl Marx's memorial in Highgate Cemetery is perhaps the most famous head in this list. We almost disqualified him for showing a little too much shoulder, and thus encroaching upon 'bust' territory. But there's definitely more 'big head' about this.
Karl Marx's memorial in Highgate Cemetery is perhaps the most famous head in this list. We almost disqualified him for showing a little too much shoulder, and thus encroaching upon 'bust' territory. But there's definitely more 'big head' about this.
The fabulously coiffured head of Joseph Paxton, creator of the Crystal Palace, presides over the ruins of that edifice in Crystal Palace Park. He's not actually purple. We took this photo years ago on a camera phone and it is, frankly, a bit shit. By playing with the filters a bit, we can at least make it artistically shit.
The fabulously coiffured head of Joseph Paxton, creator of the Crystal Palace, presides over the ruins of that edifice in Crystal Palace Park. He's not actually purple. We took this photo years ago on a camera phone and it is, frankly, a bit shit. By playing with the filters a bit, we can at least make it artistically shit.
This horse sculpture by Nic Fiddian-Green stands snout-down beside Marble Arch. At over 10 metres high, it's probably the largest decapitated equine sculpture on a traffic island anywhere in the world. Spectacular. But we can't help thinking of The Godfather.
This horse sculpture by Nic Fiddian-Green stands snout-down beside Marble Arch. At over 10 metres high, it's probably the largest decapitated equine sculpture on a traffic island anywhere in the world. Spectacular. But we can't help thinking of The Godfather.
These heads aren't quite so massive as some of the others in this gallery, but they look like they weigh something serious. A trio of the bonces were installed in 2012 outside the poshster apartments of NEO Bankside behind Tate Modern. They're the work of Emily Young, who seems to be on a mission to fill the city with stone heads. You'll find a permanent set in Paternoster Square, and she previously exhibited in Berkeley Square.
These heads aren't quite so massive as some of the others in this gallery, but they look like they weigh something serious. A trio of the bonces were installed in 2012 outside the poshster apartments of NEO Bankside behind Tate Modern. They're the work of Emily Young, who seems to be on a mission to fill the city with stone heads. You'll find a permanent set in Paternoster Square, and she previously exhibited in Berkeley Square.
This incredible piece outside the Design Museum is unmistakably the work of the late Eduardo Paolozzi. His statue of Newton outside the British Library also carries a sizeable head, but it happens to be connected to the rest of the scientist's anatomy, so is discounted from our list.
This incredible piece outside the Design Museum is unmistakably the work of the late Eduardo Paolozzi. His statue of Newton outside the British Library also carries a sizeable head, but it happens to be connected to the rest of the scientist's anatomy, so is discounted from our list.

Some of the very first Londoners were decapitated at the sword of Boudicca. Ancient myths speak of a Welsh giant called Bran, whose head was buried where the Tower of London now stands. That same spot became synonymous with beheadings, including the fatal foreshortening of three queens. For centuries, the spiked heads of traitors would gorily decorate London Bridge.

All of which is to tenuously build up some loose connection between London and heads. It occurs to us that quite a collection of oversized noggins peppers the capital. In the gallery above, we've rounded up some of the most impressive. You'll find plenty more in the British Museum and other galleries, but it's too sunny outside to be head-hunting indoors.

Last Updated 24 June 2023