Whether in flocks, where birds move as one like a murmuration of starlings, or flying solo on a particular mission, the flight of birds has been an inspiration to engineers and artists alike, as well as giving simple pleasure to those observing them. Wings outstretched, the twists, turns and seemingly effortless gliding of birds in flight, evoke a feeling of longing. A glimpse of imagined freedom in a dreamlike world…
Black-headed gull.
These sharp-eyed, often noisy black-headed gulls, winter visitors to Lambeth Reach, bring life and movement to the river side. The London Wildlife Trust say that around 140,000 pairs breed in the British Isles and their numbers swell to about 2.2 million birds in the winter.
Cormorant taking off, its tail feathers still touching the water.
These striking birds are of an ancient lineage stretching back to the time of the dinosaurs and, as you look at them with their fierce beaks, powerful claws, and their blue eyes, the link to a pre-human past opens up.
You can discover the history of the ‘spectacled’ cormorant, the world’s largest ever cormorant, extinct for 200 years, ancestor to the cormorants we see today, via this link to the: Natural History Museum.
Black-headed gull, wings outstretched.Parakeet about to take flight.
Parakeets, as many of you know, have spread around the country. However, recently they are less evident in Victoria Tower Gardens, which might perhaps have something to do with the presence of peregrine falcons nesting, as they have been, in the Victoria Tower.
Juvenile herring gull dropping something into the water.
Young gulls seem to play, picking up small objects, then dropping them into the water, occasionally catching them again as they fall. Eventually, copying mature gulls, they learn to pick up shells for food, letting them drop onto hard surfaces to crack them open. Crows tend to bring the shells they find on the foreshore back up to the riverside path in Victoria Tower Gardens where they’re easier to open.
Take Off. A young blackbird takes to the air.Young herring gull seemingly gliding with little effort.Young herring gull with a goal in mind.Young herring gull with a purpose.Egyptian goose about to make a landing.Young herring gull flying away from a Palace of Westminster marker.A sideways glance from a black-headed gull.Bird and water seem to blend into one.As the the crow flies…
If you would like some respite from the rather gloomy news and weather at the moment, here are some other bird related articles on my site to take you, for a short time, to another place.
There are also some good accounts to follow on social media, particularly on Bluesky:
Birds of the World: @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social Rob Crank Photography: @robcrank68.bsky.social Every Heron: @everyheron.bsky.social Ian Young: @iangrebe.bsky.social
The Buxton Memorial Fountain, no longer a fountain, in Victoria Tower Gardens, January 10, 2026.
Set in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament, The Buxton Memorial commemorates one of Parliament’s most important Acts: “The Emancipation of Slaves, 1834”, which came into force that year. It is dedicated principally to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, the leading Member of Parliament, who ensured the passing of the Act through all its stages.
Building of the Memorial Commissioned by Charles Buxton, MP, and dedicated to his father Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, the Buxton Memorial Fountain, as it was then, was first erected in 1866 at the corner of Great George Street, leading from St.James’s Park into Parliament Square. It was a flamboyant example of Neo-Gothic architecture but by 1949, after the austerity of the Second World War, the ground where it stood was incorporated into the new road design for Parliament Square. Rather than destroying the monument, as some would have wished, tastes and fashions having changed, it was dismantled and put into store to be rebuilt at a point in the future as its conservation had been assured by an Amendment to the Parliament Act in 1949. An engraved stone on the west side of Parliament Square, leading to St. James’s Park, now marks the place and dates of where it originally stood.
In 1955 the fate of the Buxton Memorial, already in storage for six years, was brought to the attention in the House of Commons where Members debated “the proposal made by the Minister of Works for re-erecting the Buxton Memorial Drinking Fountain.” The Minister of Works, Nigel Birch, having agreed that it would be wrong to reinstate the memorial in Parliament Square, and having refuted some of the arguments against its being completely redesigned put forward the arguments of the Anti-Slavery Society saying: “It ought to be re-erected near the Palace of Westminster because it was in the Palace of Westminster that the struggle was fought and won.” He added the Society’s point that it would be “strange if in Parliament Square we had a statue of Abraham Lincoln, the emancipator of the American slaves, while our own emancipators, who performed their task earlier and without the shedding of blood, were not commemorated near where that struggle was fought.” Nigel Birch went on to say that two previous Ministers of Works had given “conditional undertakings that the fountain would be re-erected in Victoria Tower Gardens.” And the timing was good, for proposals which had been announced and approved for the re-design of Victoria Tower Gardens in 1955-6 provided the opportunity to carry out those undertakings. With the support of others, he won the debate: “That this House approves the proposal made by the Minister of Works for re-erecting the Buxton Memorial Drinking Fountain, a copy of which proposal was laid before this House on 15th November.” Hansard, November 30, 1955.
Construction Octagonal in shape, and roughly twelve feet in diameter, its intricate structure is made up of limestone, grey and pink granite, grey and red sandstone, red marble, wrought iron, and terracotta. Sculptures of dragon-like creatures lunge outwards and, set between the arches, is a series of legend-inspired mosaics. The spire is timber framed and clad with enamelled metal work. It could almost be a pattern book for Neo-Gothic design. Historic England, listing the memorial as Grade II*, puts the date of its creation as 1864-6. “Designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon, with what appears to have been a considerable creative contribution from Charles Buxton.” The tablet at its base reads: “Erected in 1865 by Charles Buxton MP in commemoration of the Emancipation of Slaves 1834, and in memory of his father Sir T. Fowell Buxton and those associated with him: Wilberforce; Clarkson; Macaulay; Brougham; Dr. Lushington and others.”
The missing figures Looking at the image above you can see five of the eight small bronze figures, by Thomas Earp, that originally stood at the base of the spire. The Thorney Society explains: “They represented past rulers of England including Britons, Danes, Saxons and Normans and ended with Queen Victoria.” Some of them were stolen in 1960, the rest in 1971. Finally replaced in 1980, these were also stolen so that their plinths now remain empty.
Gustave Doré French artist and printmaker, Gustave Doré was a famous and highly successful, prolific book illustrator. In 1869 he set out to explore London, in all its aspects, with his friend, British journalist William Blanchard Jerrold. Many of his engraving feature life on and around the Thames.
The Conservation, 2025 The recently restored Buxton Memorial Fountain was upgraded from II to II* in 2007 and listed for the following main reasons: “It is an unusual and exuberant example of the work of S. S. Teulon, in association with Charles Buxton, and the lavish and imaginative use of materials, especially in its enamelled roof.
In May 2024 specialist contractor Stonewest was awarded the contract by The Royal Parks, to undertake the conservation of the memorial. A statement on the company website explains: “We were delighted to complete the conservation work to the Grade II listed Buxton Memorial Fountain, situated in the Victoria Tower Gardens in London’s Westminster. On behalf of The Royal Parks and working with heritage consultant Purcell, we carried out considerate stonework and decorative metalwork repairs to the Memorial, as part of the long-term management of this historic asset.”
Removal of the scaffolding
Removal of scaffolding, September 1, 2025.September 2, 2025.The spire de-scaffolded with the protective barrier still in place, September 5, 2025.October 16, 2025. Barrier that had been protecting the surrounds is partially removed.October 20, 2025. Protective barrier finally removed.
A closer look after the conservation work
View of the pillars and the dedication to Sir T. Fowell Buxton.Looking through the pillars to the drinking fountain, not working since the Memorial’s reinstatement in Victoria Tower Gardens.Drinking fountain for dogs, no longer working since the reinstatement of the memorial.
The Mosaics There are several purely decorative mosaics dotted around the memorial as well as a number of representative scenes.
One of the many purely decorative mosaics
Opinions differ as to what each of the figurative mosaics represent. One suggestion is that they are mostly inspired by the fables of Aesop. What I would recommend, if you would like to study them closely to see how many you can identify, is to bring a pair of binoculars.
‘The Crow and Pitcher’, Aesop.‘The Frog and the Fox’, Aesop.‘The Fisherman and the Fish’, Aesop.
Bob Speel notes that: “One of the mosaics is worth closer attention, it depicts an enslaved person supposedly being emancipated, chains broken off him.” He adds that it is difficult to see all the details, and suggests that “another interpretation could be the aggressive violence inflicted upon enslaved people.” The figure on the bottom left, appears to be praying.
Rescue or abuse of a slave…
Details of the Spire
Marble column between two of the arches and two of the mosaics.Gothic grotesques sensitively restored.Empty plinth and a mosaic where one of the bronze figures used to stand.Exuberant enamel designs on the spire, beautifully restored.Varied designs towards the top of the spire.Gold painted metal cross at the top of the spire.Close up of the delicately restored enamel work.The barriers that were protecting the Memorial finally removed, October 17, 2025.The Memorial from the south.The Memorial from the north east.
Regular local users of Victoria Towers Gardens, having watched the progress of work on the Buxton Memorial over the past couple of years, have recently delighted in its gradual de-scaffolding. Visitors, cameras in hand are fascinated by its bright complexity, and, those who seek further to discover its purpose, learn about the commemoration of the passing of the The Emancipation of Slaves Act, 1833, which came into force in 1834.
After its removal from Parliament Square in 1949, it was reassembled in Victoria Tower Gardens in 1957. It was thought appropriate for it to be placed there, “because of the deep connection to Parliament which, as one observer noted ‘cleansed the country of its terrible inheritance of the slave trade’. This is one of the reasons The Thorney Island Society “has advocated that the Holocaust Memorial be sited somewhere else nearby rather than in Victoria Tower Gardens because there is no direct link with Parliament as there is with the Buxton Memorial.” There is also the view that the memorial was carefully positioned so as to echo, unimpeded, the architecture of the Palace of Westminster.
The Buxton Memorial, carefully positioned so as to blend in with the architecture of the Palace of Westminster. Image, September 17, 2020.
