Statue of George Canning, Parliament Square

The bronze statue of George Canning standing before you is the oldest memorial in Parliament Square. When the sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott was assembling the massive bronze figure in his studio in eighteen thirty-two, a hoisting device failed and the statue fell, resulting in the death of his assistant, Vincent Gahagan. The statue was originally unveiled in a different location near the Palace of Westminster before being moved to this spot in eighteen sixty-seven to serve as the inaugural monument of what was then a newly designed public space.