Continuing our series celebrating the impact of different species on our cityscape.
No bears live in London today. Once, they were common; grotesquely used for entertainment and sport. In more recent times, London provided the inspiration for the two most famous fictional bears in the world. It's time we rounded up some of the key ursine sights of London...
1. Paddington Bear(s)
London's most famous bear is decidedly plural. The Peruvian cub is most famously memorialised with a bronze bear within his namesake Paddington station. Another can be found nearby on the canal towpath, a leftover from an old Paddington trail. At time of writing, yet another is sequestered in nearby Norfolk Square. And then there's the movie-star Paddinton in Leicester Square. Others appeared in the wake of the Paddington in Peru film, along with a mural in Waterloo.
In fact, Paddington has more London statues than just about anyone who ever lived, with the possible exception of Queen Victoria. The one in our picture, which also features Paddington creator Michael Bond, is not so well known. It can be found in St Mary's churchyard, Paddington Green.
2. Winnie the Pooh
Paddington is not our city's only famous bear. Winnie the Pooh also has his origins in the capital. AA Milne's most famous character was partly inspired by a black bear (a female) that he and his son Christopher Robin had seen at London Zoo. The real bear was brought to the Zoo in 1914 by a Canadian serviceman, who had named her Winnie after his hometown of Winnipeg. Today, you can see two small statues of the bear at the Zoo (the other one is pictured here).
Meanwhile, Winnie the Pooh's home in the Hundred Acre Wood can be visited in East Sussex. Or perhaps Hertfordshire.
3. Paddington's pub
Before we run away from fictional bears, it's also worth noting that the duffel-coated ursine is also remembered in the name of Paddington Station's main pub. The Mad Bishop and Bear, a Fuller's bar on the top floor, also recalls a churchman who sold the land upon which the station is built for a trivial amount of money — hence "mad". It might look fairly humdrum from our photo, but the pub is actually pretty decent on the inside — one of London's better station pubs.
It isn't the only ursine pub in London. Try the excellent White Bear in Kennington, or indeed the recently opened The Bear near Paddington, from the Craft Beer Co.
4. Bear-baiting
Bears and London go way back. Brown bears were once indigenous to the region, but were hunted to extinction at some point in the early medieval period. Captive bears lived on, for brutal entertainment purposes. The most famous centre of bear fighting in early modern times was on Bankside close to the Globe theatre. The so-called Beargarden attracted huge crowds, to the point where the stands collapsed in 1583, killing eight people. It would not close until the late 17th century. Today, the site is remembered by the side street called Bear Gardens.
5. Bear grease
Bears have been treated atrociously in other ways, too. For centuries, the animals were killed for their fur, but also for their fat, which was marketed as 'bear grease' for any number of cosmetic purposes. Its chief use was as a remedy for hair loss. Bears are very, very hairy, so smothering your pate in pulped bearmatter would surely stimulate the follicles. Obviously, it didn't work. The wonderful Royal Pharmaceutical Society's museum near the Tower of London has a small display about this ursine quackery, including items from London manufacturers.
6. A polar bear in London
Speaking of the Tower of London, visitors today will see a number of wire-based animal sculptures, the work of Kendra Haste (she of the Waterloo elephant). They remember the Tower Menagerie, London's earliest 'zoo', which operated from the 13th to the 19th century. One of its earliest captives was a "white bear", thought to be a polar bear. The creature was gifted to Henry III in 1252 by the King of Norway. It was kept chained, but allowed to swim in the Thames and catch its own fish. The Tower was also home to England's first grizzly bear from 1811. "Old Martin" was a somewhat demanding gift, from The Hudson Bay Company to George III. Old Martin also became London Zoo's first bear when the Tower Menagerie was closed in 1832.
7. Jamrach's bear
Another famous menagerie grew up close to the Tower during the 19th century. Charles Jamrach was one of London's most noted dealers in exotic animals, operating from a base on Ratcliffe Highway. His name is mostly remembered from an incident in 1857 when a Bengal tiger escaped from his emporium. A small boy approached the tiger in curiosity, but was dragged away by the beast. Happily, he was rescued without injury, and the tiger also lived to 'enjoy' a career at the popular Wombwell's menagerie. The incident is remembered in a huge bronze sculpture inside Tobacco Dock, Wapping, which also features a bear from the menagerie. Although the tiger and boy take centre stage, the bear is notable as London's tallest ursine sculpture (at least, that we're aware of).
8. Buddy Bear
On first glance, Buddy Bear in Woolwich town centre looks like a leftover from one of those fibreglass animal trails. And he kind of is, albeit on a grander scale. Buddy here is from Berlin, and part of a wider initiative in which the German capital donates the mascot to places with some kind of Berlin affiliation. In this case, Buddy was sent over in 2016 to mark 50 years since Woolwich was twinned with Reinickendorf to the north-west of Berlin. The bear is decorated with nautical imagery, reflecting the maritime history of Greenwich and Woolwich. The gun in each paw suggest the Woolwich Arsenal, whence originated Arsenal football club. No other London bear is simultaneously so historical, sporting and ambassadorial.
9. Other historical ursines
"The spectators were then horrified by seeing the animal extend its huge paws, and apparently thinking — poor beast — that its morning meal lay upon the ledge, convey to its mouth the large jagged fragments of glass that were scattered before it. The effect of this dreadful repast was quickly shown by the rush of blood and foam which issued from the animal's mouth and nostrils."
So ran a newspaper account of a dreadful fire in a menagerie in Norton Folgate in 1884, which we uncovered in the newspaper archives some time ago. The fire killed many animals, including this poor bear, whose fate seems all the worse for the flowery Victorian language in which it is described.
Another shocking episode took place in 1909 at the Hippodrome in Leicester Square. The venue managed to bring together 70 polar bears — yes, SEVENTY — for the sake of a Arctic-themed stage show. Photos from the performance show the bears cramped together in scenes that would now be unthinkable. We shouldn't judge people of the past by today's standards but, in this case, what a bunch of absolute tosspots.
Sometimes, the bear bites back. A few years back we chronicled all the bear attacks around London that we could find in the archives. Incidents include a fatal mauling at the Welsh Harp Reservoir, a man killed while wrestling a bear in the Sebright Arms, and another bear attack that was thwarted by a magician wielding a broomstick and red-hot poker.
10. Lost bears
It is vanishingly rare to see a bear in the capital today. Even London Zoo no longer keeps the animals. Toy bears are another matter. We've regularly stumbled across abandoned teddy bears while wandering across town. So many, in fact, that we started a regular series called "Leave No Bear Behind" a few years back. Browse through this sorry archive with parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7.
11. Cuddling bears
Shall we finish with a cuddly one? Aw, bless. This cutesy sculpture can be found in Kensington Gardens near the Italian Gardens. It tops a drinking fountain with taps for both humans and dogs, which was installed in 1939 to mark 80 years of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain & Cattle Trough Association. Why they picked two embracing bruins is a mystery that could bear greater scrutiny.
And on that pawful pun, we'll make our exit... pursued by bear.
All images by Matt Brown.
Read the rest of our series tracking different animal species around the capital.
