Restored Leaning Woman Unveiled by Duke of Gloucester

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Six-year campaign results in rescue of public artwork on Great West Road

The Duke of Gloucester with local schoolchildren at the unveiling

July 21, 2024

The renovation of the long neglected Leaning Woman statue by the Great West Road in Hammersmith has been completed.

The occasion was marked by an official unveiling by HRH The Duke of Gloucester this Tuesday (16 July) when he was joined by over 200 local residents and school children.

The Duke made a speech as well as Director of the Heritage of London Trust, Dr Nicola Stacey, alongside Deputy Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Daryl Brown, Chair of the St Peter’s Residents’ Association, Joanna Edmunds, and Alex Cardew, son of the model for the statue.

The Grade II listed statue, which has been on the Heritage at Risk Register for seven years, was painstakingly restored using funds raised during a six year long campaign led by the Heritage of London Trust. Support was received from Hammersmith & Fulham Council and local residents.

The Leaning Woman before the restoration. Picture: Heritage of London Trust

Commissioned by the London County Council in 1958 as part of its post-War ‘Patronage of the Arts’ Scheme, the statue was intended to connect the busy new A4 road – widened in1956 – with the classical church and square behind it, as well as compensate residents for the loss of land. From 1956 to 1964, around 50 artworks were sited around housing estates, schools and public buildings as part of this scheme, many of which are now falling into disrepair.

The statue’s Czech sculptor Dr Karel Vogel was an émigré who arrived in London in 1938. His pre-War work was conventionally classical, but like other artists of the time he began experimenting with industrial materials such as concrete.

The statue is cast in concrete around an iron armature. The model for the piece was another refugee, East German émigré Jutta Cardew (nee Zemke) who became an art student and family friend of Vogel’s at Camberwell where he taught. Her son, Alex Cardew, spoke at the event, recalling that the young model ‘was leaning on an upturned broom with a music stand in front of her with a book to read’.

By 2017 the statue was on the Heritage at Risk Register with its iron armature corroding and partly protruding and the concrete’s outer layer wearing away. In 2018 Heritage of London Trust launched a campaign to restore it, along with local residents. The Trust gave a grant of £10,000 and ran a crowdfunding campaign in summer of 2023 which raised an additional £12,000 from the public, and £16,000 has been contributed from Hammersmith & Fulham Council, plus landscaping costs.

Restoration has involved removal of previous repairs, halting corrosion, repairing cracks in the concrete, filling of seam joints and a protective specialist coating. Undergrowth blocking the view from the road has been cut back, a display panel added and a path will soon be laid to the statue for visitors. Conservation work was by Sally Strachey Conservation.

Pupils from St Peter’s Church Primary School and Good Shepherd Primary School read poems and spoke about their experience. Rebecca Chakreska, age 9, said, “I think it’s important for young people and communities to get involved as it’s an
opportunity to learn more about who and what their community is made of.”

Rock Montgomery-Randall, age 11, whose school helped fundraise locally said, “It’s been an amazing experience. We actively participated in raising awareness about this significant piece of art and combined education with activism, preserving a piece of history.”

Grace Mensah, age 11, who was also involved in the door-to-door fundraising added, “I feel really proud of us because we went door to door, knocking on them with leaflets to ask if they want to donate and I think people did donate quite a bit of money to help us to bring this Leaning Woman back stronger. Before it was with a lot of poles around it and scaffolding and under a tarp but today it's made and ready.”

The Leaning Woman after the unveiling

Carved concrete sculptures made by pupils from Westside Alternative Provision School were also on display.

Dr Nicola Stacey, Director, Heritage of London Trust, said, “We’re so thrilled to have helped restore this wonderful piece of post-War art with over 400 young people involved in the project locally, and such fantastic support from local residents
and the Council. Most importantly she can be admired now by anyone passing on the A4 and will be for generations to come.”

Joanna Edmunds, Chair of St Peter’s Residents Association, said, “We’re proud to have this important landmark on our doorstep and for others to discover her story. It’s wonderful that the Leaning Woman’s future is now secured.”

Cllr Sharon Holder, H&F Cabinet Member for Public Realm, added, “We’re hugely grateful to the Heritage of London Trust, the St Peter’s Residents Association and all the local residents who helped us fund The Leaning Woman’s restoration for future generations to enjoy. The sculpture has always been a local landmark in Hammersmith and it’s fantastic to see it looking great again.”

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