See 5 TALKING STATUES near St Paul’s Cathedral in less than an hour (City of London walk)

LondonLondon SightseeingWhat to see in LondonTalking Statues

25 Apr

st Pauls Cathedral — View of St Paul’s Cathedral as seen from Fleet Street (2022). Photography: Zuzanna/WalkMeBlog.

The 2000-year-old City of London is ever-changing. The statues in it, too.

After years (sometimes decades or even centuries) of silence, speechless monuments finally start talking. Well, some of them.

And 5 of them are located only steps away from one of the most popular London tourist attractions, St Paul’s Cathedral!

Let's see (in less than an hour ) which statues near St Paul’s Cathedral are talking and what do they say!

Distance to cover: 1.7 miles (2.7 km)

Map of this walk: Talking Statues near St Paul’s Cathedral Walk

Additional comments: To fully enjoy the benefits of this walk (the talks of the statues!) make sure that you have on you the phone (with the data available on it) and the headphones.

Quick preview of the content of this post

What are the Talking Statues in London?

Which sculptures near St Paul’s Cathedral are talking?

Links to audio clips of the Talking Statues near St Paul’s Cathedral

**What are the Talking Statues?**

Before we hit the road, let me explain what are the Talking Statues and how do they work?

The Talking Statues in London is an art campaign that aims to bring life to London sculptures when utilizing our addiction to our phones. Loosely speaking.

Basically, once admiring a particular statue when sightseeing in London, you can receive a phone call from it! How cool is that?

You can read more about that in THE TALKING STATUES IN LONDON - WHAT ARE THEY? AND WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM?

Which sculptures near St Paul’s Cathedral are talking?

There are currently 5 Talking Statues near St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Available for a chat are: the Queen*, the 18th-century celebrity cat, the ugliest man in England, an inventor of the postal stamp, and last but not least, an aspiring… plumber.

*Queen Victoria

During this walk we will visit them all!

“Hello? Victoria here…” - the Talking Statue of the Queen Victoria at Blackfriars Bridge

Queen Victoria statue at Blackfriars Bridge (2022). Photography: Zuzanna/WalkMeBlog.

(link to the location)

This City of London walk starts at Blackfriars Station.

Not far from the main entrance to the station, you can find a statue of Queen Victoria.

In an honest, humorous, and heartwarming way, “The Queen of England for 63 years, 7 months, and 2 days”” will tell you in less than 3 min about her aversion to babies, love for her husband, and many other things.

The voice of the Queen has been wonderfully animated by English actress Prunella Scales.

Now, it's time to go towards Fleet Street, where you will see the statue of one of the most famous cats in the capital.

Let's hear what the Hodge The Cat has got to say.

2. "Hello, and meow..." - Hodge the Cat Talking Statue

(link to the location)

Hodge the Cat statue (2022). Photography: Zuzanna/WalkMeBlog.

The next point on this walk will take you to the Talking Statue of an 18th-century feline celebrity. What's not to love about that!

At Gough Square, just outside Dr. Samuel Johnson's House, you can find immortalized in bronze the sculpture of his cat.

Hodge (the beloved animal of the writer) is depicted there with his favorite treat, the oysters.

And in his (meowing) way, he will happily chat with you for a few minutes.

Nicholas Parsons provided the voice for this famous cat.

Ok, now, it's time to move towards the statue of the 18-century politician, womanizer, and at the same time (believe it or not), the ugliest man in England!

**3. The man who could “talk away his face” - the Talking Statue of John Wilkes**

(link to the location)

John Wilkes talking statue — John Wilkes statue (2022). Photography: Zuzanna/WalkMeBlog.

The next point on this City walk is the Talking Statue of John Wilkes, a journalist, a politician, and a very complex man.

If you answer the phone from him, he will tell you (in a very witty and snappy way) how he was able to "talk away his face" in less than half an hour (when talking to women).

You can find his monument in Fetter Lane.

Talking about love affairs. Now it's time to move closer to St Paul's Cathedral to hear the story of how the romance between a poor couple led to the revolution in the 19th-century mailing system.

**4. The romantic story of the first ever postal stamp, Penny Black - the Talking Statue of Rolland Hill**

(link to the location)

Rolland Hill Talking Statue — Rolland Hill statue in London (2022). Photography: Zuzanna/WalkMeBlog.

Talking Statue of Sir Rolland Hill is located only steps away from St Paul's Cathedral (King Edward Street), and this is where we you will be heading now.

The statue of this English inventor will tell you (among other things) how the story of poor young lovers inspired him to invent the postal stamp.

A British Politician (and a postman in his early years), Alan Johnson provided the voice to the sculpture of the man, who made posting letters available to the masses.

Before the invention of the postal stamp, mailing was a privilege for the rich!

5. “To much bathing was thought to be dangerous…” - the Plumber’s Apprentice Talking Statue

(link to the location)

The Plumber's Apprentice statue at Cannon Street Station is the 5th (and the last) Talking Statue for you to see during this walk.

The Cannon Street Station is be best known as a London convenient transport link. However, before 1863, this location was a center of a plumbing business in London!

From the phone call from Plumber’s Apprentice statue, you will learn who was the very first person to use the flushing toilet* and how the fear of using this strange device delayed its popularization for about 200 years!

*of course, it was the Queen! And since it was in the 16th century, it was Queen Elizabeth I!

The Plumber's Apprentice statue has been animated not by the well-known public personality (like the voices of other Talking Statues) but by the plumbing engineer, Dan Martins! How very cool.