Charles Dickens Dog And Pot Sculpture Unveiled In Southwark

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 133 months ago
Charles Dickens Dog And Pot Sculpture Unveiled In Southwark
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A new sculpture was officially unveiled yesterday at the corner of Union Street and Blackfriars Road, on the last day of the Charles Dickens bicentenary. As a 12 year old boy, Dickens used to walk past a statue of a dog and pot over a shop as he went to work (yes, work), vowing to one day go back to school and make something of himself. He later immortalised it in his autobiography:

My usual way home was over Blackfriars Bridge and down that turning in the Blackfriars Road which has Rowland Hill’s chapel on one side, and the likeness of a golden dog licking a golden pot over a shop door on the other.

This replica – which has its own Twitter account – is made from elm wood and created by Michael Painter, a carpenter and artist who has worked on Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster. If you want to see the original, it's in Southwark's Cuming Museum.

Last Updated 06 February 2013