Catching some welcome sunlight after the miserable weather earlier in the day (see next photo). This is the former mascot of the long-demolished Lion Brewery; it's now on the south side of Westminster Bridge, next to the former County Hall. There were three lions originally, made by WF Woodington in 1837 (using Eleanor Coade's lost formula); one of the others was destroyed while the third is at Twickenham Rugby Ground.
Description of Lecture
Coade is an artificial stone that was invented in the 18th century. It was widely used for freestanding statuary and monuments, architectural detailing and even garden furniture. Hundreds of examples can still be seen across Britain. The stone was named after Eleanor Coade, who ran a successful manufactory in south London for many years. This lecture tells the story of Mrs Coade and the artificial stone that made her one of the most successful businesswomen in the late 1700s.
Suggested Book Titles
Due to the late swapping of the January and December lectures we were unable to source a book on Eleanor Coade and her Stone. If you are interested, here are 2 Titles.
Coade Stone by Hans van Lemmen published by Shire publishing
Mrs Coade`s Stone by Alison Kelly.
Lecturer
Lecturer: Angela Smith
Angela has a Ph.D from the Warburg Institute (University of London) and has published `A Timeline of Art History’ in 2013. Angela lectures widely and catalogues paintings for the National Inventory Research project. She has contributed to TV series most recently `Digging up Britain’s Past.’