Statue of Robert Milligan

Sculpture by Richard Westmacott

Statue of Robert Milligan

The statue in 2017

Artist| Richard Westmacott
Location| London, England
Coordinates| 51°30′26″N 0°01′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.50735°N 0.02389°W﻿ / 51.50735; -0.02389

A statue of Robert Milligan was installed at the West India Docks in London, in 1813.[1] Milligan was a merchant, and was largely responsible for the construction of the West India Docks. After being put in storage in 1943, it was re-erected by the London Docklands Development Corporation in 1997.

On 9 June 2020, the statue was removed, coinciding with a drive to review slave-trader statues launched by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.[2][3][4]

## History

[edit]

Robert Milligan (1746–1809) was a prominent Scottish merchant, ship-owner and slave-factor, who was the driving force behind the construction of the West India Docks in London. The statue was commissioned by the West India Dock Company from the sculptor Richard Westmacott in May 1809, following Milligan's death.[5] From its installation in 1813 the statue stood by the Hibbert Gate, until 1875 when it was moved to the North Gate.[1] It was put into storage in 1943, where it remained until 1997, when it was re-erected at its original location on the West India Dock by the London Docklands Development Corporation.[6] The Museum of London Docklands opened in buildings directly behind the statue in 2003.[7]

### "Father of the Island" in 1998

[edit]

Detail of the relief on the pedestal

In 1998 an article in The Islander, a community newspaper sponsored by the Association of Island Communities on the local Isle of Dogs, published a photograph of the statue with another featuring Max Hebditch, at the time director of the Museum of London Docklands, with Roger Squire, at that time the Joint Chief Executive of the London Docklands Development Corporation, who had made the arrangements to return the statue to its original place. The article argued that Milligan was a genius who had persuaded the city merchants to build the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs, rather than in Wapping. Dubbing Milligan "the father of the Isle of Dogs", the article called for Wednesday 12 July 2000 to be celebrated as the bicentenary of the laying of the docks' foundation stone in 1800.[8]

### Shrouding in 2007

[edit]

In 2007, when the Museum of London Docklands opened the London, Sugar and Slavery gallery, the connection between the West India Dock, the sugar warehouses which now house the museum and the exploitation of enslaved Africans on West Indian sugar plantations was made explicit. The 1811 portrait of George Hibbert by Thomas Lawrence had been moved from a place where he had been revered as playing a heroic role in the creation of the dock to a position in the new gallery with a caption clarifying his role as a politician and slave owner who resisted the abolition of slavery. In November, at the time of the opening of the exhibition, the statue of Robert Milligan was shrouded in black cloth, tied up with rope – although this was removed after the event. The museum also elicited the thoughts of members of the public as regards the statue in relation to Milligan's involvement with the enslavement of Africans.[9]

### Removal in 2020

[edit]

The vandalized statue in 2020

Following the vandalism and removal of Edward Colston's statue in Bristol by anti-racism protesters in response to the murder of George Floyd, a petition was launched to remove the statue of Milligan. Set up by Labour councillor Ehtasham Haque,[10][11] it attracted 4,000 signatures in less than two days.[12][4] He described the fact that the statue still existed in 2020 as "an insult to humanity".[13] A series of evening protests was planned.[12]

The statue was covered with a shroud by protesters, and placards were attached to it. On 9 June 2020, the Museum of London Docklands issued a statement saying how this made the statue an "object of protest", and said that they believed it should remain so for as long as the statue remained.[14] They added that they "advocate for the statue of Robert Milligan to be removed on the grounds of its historical links to colonial violence and exploitation." Later that day, the statue was removed by the local authority, and the landowners the Canal & River Trust, to "recognise the wishes of the community".[14][2] The statue was removed on the same day that Sadiq Khan announced plans to establish a Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm.

## Museum ownership

[edit]

In March 2022 the Canal & River Trust, which owned the statute, donated it to the Museum of London. The intention is to display the statute at the Museum of London Docklands in due course.[15][16]

## See also

[edit]

* London portal
* Visual arts portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statue of Robert Milligan.

* List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests
* List of public art formerly in London
* List of public statues of individuals linked to the Atlantic slave trade
* Actions against memorials in the United Kingdom during the George Floyd protests

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Burford, Rachel (9 June 2020). "Statue of 18th century slaver in east London removed after protests". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
2. ^ a b "London slavery statue removed from outside museum". BBC News. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
3. ^ Laud, Georgina (9 June 2020). "Robert Milligan statue: Who was Robert Milligan? Statue removed". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
4. ^ a b Mason, Rowena; Pidd, Helen (9 June 2020). "Labour councils launch slavery statue review as another is removed". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
5. ^ "UK Government Web Archive". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
6. ^ "Robert Milligan". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
7. ^ Culture24.org.uk: MGM 2003 – A Capital Addition, Museum In Docklands Now Open. Emma Midgley, 23 May 2003
8. ^ Davies, Tudor (1998). "The father of the island revealed". No. December 1998. Association of Island Communities.
9. ^ Wemyss, Georgie (2016). The Invisible Empire: White Discourse, Tolerance and Belonging. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-02701-0.
10. ^ Cox, Sophia (9 June 2020). "Petition launched to remove statue of slave owner from West India Quay". East London Advertiser. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
11. ^ "2020, Online petition to remove the Robert Milligan statue - Cast in Stone". castinstone.exeter.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
12. ^ a b "Slave owner's statue could be removed from West India Quay tonight". Docklands & East London Advertiser. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
13. ^ Burford, Rachael (9 June 2020). "Campaigners vow to protest outside Robert Milligan slave trader statue 'every day' until it is torn down". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
14. ^ a b "Robert Milligan statue statement". Museum of London. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020.
15. ^ "Statue of Robert Milligan joins Museum of London collection". Canal & River Trust. 21 May 2024. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022.
16. ^ "Why was the Robert Milligan statue removed?" (PDF). museumoflondon.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2022.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Dresser, Madge (1 October 2007), "Set in Stone? Statues and Slavery in London", History Workshop Journal, 64 (1): 162–199, doi:10.1093/hwj/dbm032, JSTOR 25472939
* "Robert Milligan", National Recording Project, Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, archived from the original on 16 July 2011, retrieved 10 June 2020

* v
* t
* e

Richard Westmacott

Sculptures|

* Statue of Lord Nelson, Birmingham (1809)
* Statue of Robert Milligan (1813)
* Nelson Monument, Liverpool (1813)
* Statue of Lord Nelson, Bridgetown (1813)
* Statue of Charles James Fox (1814)
* Wellington Monument, London (1822)
* Waterloo Vase (1830)
* The Copper Horse (1831)
* Statue of George Canning, Parliament Square (1832)
* Duke of York Column (1834)

Family|

* Richard Westmacott (the elder) (father)
* Richard Westmacott (the younger) (son)

* v
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Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

United States

| Alabama|

* Birmingham – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument; Charles Linn
* Huntsville – Confederate Soldier Memorial ✻
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|

Arkansas|

* Bentonville – Confederate Monument ✻
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California|

* Carmel-by-the-Sea – Junípero Serra
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Connecticut|

* Bridgeport – Christopher Columbus
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Delaware|

* Dover – Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial
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District of Columbia|

* Washington – Albert Pike

Florida|

* Jacksonville – Confederate Memorial; Florida's Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy ✻
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Georgia|

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Indiana|

* Indianapolis – Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument

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Louisiana|

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Massachusetts|

* Boston – Christopher Columbus; Emancipation Memorial

Michigan|

* Dearborn – Orville L. Hubbard
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Minnesota|

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Missouri|

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New York|

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North Carolina|

* Asheville – Vance Monument ✻
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Ohio|

* Columbus – Christopher Columbus (City Hall); Christopher Columbus (Columbus State Community College)

Oregon|

* Eugene – The Pioneer; The Pioneer Mother
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Pennsylvania|

* Philadelphia – Christopher Columbus ✻; Frank Rizzo; George Whitefield

Rhode Island|

* Providence – Christopher Columbus

South Carolina|

* Columbia – Christopher Columbus
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Tennessee|

* Nashville – Edward W. Carmack; Sam Davis ✻

Texas|

* Beaumont – Our Confederate Soldiers
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* Houston – Christopher Columbus; Richard W. Dowling ✻; Spirit of the Confederacy

Virginia|

* Alexandria – Appomattox
* Fredericksburg – Slave Auction Block
* Norfolk – Confederate Monument
* Portsmouth – Confederate Monument
* Roanoke – Robert E. Lee
* Richmond – Christopher Columbus; Jefferson Davis; Howitzer Monument ✻; Stonewall Jackson; Robert E. Lee; Matthew Fontaine Maury; Richmond Police Memorial; J. E. B. Stuart; Williams Carter Wickham

Wisconsin|

* Madison – Forward; Hans Christian Heg

Other countries

| Belgium|

* Antwerp – Leopold II
* Ghent – Leopold II

|

New Zealand|

* Hamilton – John Fane Charles Hamilton

United Kingdom|

* Bristol – Edward Colston
* Cambridge – Sir Ronald Fisher window
* Greater Manchester – Dunham Massey Hall sundial
* London – John Cass; Robert Clayton ✻; Thomas Guy ✻; Robert Milligan

Key: ✻ Pending removal

* v
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Public art and memorials in London

Portrait sculpture

| British/English
royalty|

* Boudica
* Alfred the Great
* Richard I
* Queen Eleanor (Charing Cross)
* Edward VI
* St Thomas' Hospital: bronze
* stone
* Charles I
* (Interregnum: Oliver Cromwell)
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|

Arts|

* John Betjeman
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Explorers|

* James Cook
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Merchants|

* John Cass†
* Thomas Guy
* Quintin Hogg
* Robert Milligan†
* Hugh Myddelton

Military|

* Lord Alanbrooke
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* Ferdinand Foch
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* Duke of Wellington
* City
* Hyde Park Corner
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Nurses|

* Edith Cavell
* Florence Nightingale
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Politics|

| British|

| Prime ministers|

* Clement Attlee
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* Winston Churchill
* Parliament Square
* Woodford
* Lord Derby
* Benjamin Disraeli
* David Lloyd George
* William Ewart Gladstone
* Lord Palmerston
* Robert Peel

|

Other politicians|

* Robert Clayton
* Robert Clive
* Duke of Devonshire
* Charles James Fox
* Henry Bartle Frere
* Sidney Herbert
* Wilfrid Lawson
* Simon Milton (Paddington, St James's, Southwark)
* Marquess of Westminster

International|

* Simón Bolívar
* Mahatma Gandhi
* Bloomsbury
* Westminster
* Charles de Gaulle
* Haile Selassie†
* John F. Kennedy†
* Abraham Lincoln
* Nelson Mandela
* Karl Marx
* Peter the Great
* José de San Martín
* Jan Smuts
* Trajan
* Volodymyr
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Religion|

* Thomas Becket
* John Henry Newman
* John Wesley
* St Paul's
* Shoreditch

Science and
engineering|

* Joseph Bazalgette
* Isambard Kingdom Brunel
* Sigmund Freud
* James Henry Greathead
* Nigel Gresley
* Edward Jenner
* Joseph Lister
* Isaac Newton
* Robert Stephenson

Social reformers
and humanitarians|

* Thomas Barnardo
* Millicent Fawcett
* Margaret MacDonald
* Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst
* Sylvia Pankhurst
* Robert Raikes
* Raoul Wallenberg

Sport|

* Harry Kane
* Bobby Moore
* Upton Park—with Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Ray Wilson
* Wembley

Fictional
characters|

* Paddington Bear
* Peter Pan
* Sherlock Holmes

See also|

* Talking Statues
* Statues in London on Wikimedia Commons

Other monuments and memorials

* 7 July bombings
* Queen Alexandra
* Anti–air war
* Bali bombings
* Lady Burdett-Coutts
* Lord Cheylesmore
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* COVID-19 pandemic
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* Great Fire of London
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* The Monument
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* Queen Elizabeth Gate
* Silver Jubilee Crystal Crown
* Star and Garter Home
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* Victims of the Atlantic slave trade (planned)
* Virginia colonists
* Wellington Arch
* Wellington Monument
* Whittington Stone
* Windrush generation
* Custard Apple (Annonaceae), Breadfruit (Moraceae) and Soursop (Annonaceae)
* National Windrush Monument
* Mary Wollstonecraft

| War memorials|

| Pre-C20|

* Animals in War
* Guards Brigade (Crimean War)
* Gurkhas (1816–)
* Marble Arch
* New Zealand Campaign (1863–1864)
* Siege of Cádiz
* Westminster School

|

Boer Wars|

* 61st Battery Royal Field Artillery (Woolwich)
* Barnet Boys School
* Royal Artillery (The Mall)
* Royal Marines

WWI · WWII|

* The Cenotaph

* Africa and the Caribbean
* Australia
* Battle of Britain
* Belgium
* Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red
* Burma Railway
* Canada
* La Délivrance
* Flanders Fields Memorial Garden
* Malta
* Memorial Gates
* Merchant Navy
* Ships named on the memorial
* New Zealand
* Poland
* South Africa
* Submarines
* Women of World War II

| Regimental|

* 24th Division
* Cavalry
* Chindits
* Civil Service Rifles
* Eagle Squadrons
* Fleet Air Arm
* Guards Brigade
* Imperial Camel Corps
* Machine Gun Corps
* Rifle Brigade
* Royal Air Force
* RAF Bomber Command
* Royal Artillery
* Royal Fusiliers
* Royal Naval Division
* Royal Tank Regiment

|

Local|

* London Troops

* Arkley
* Bromley
* parish
* Chingford
* Chipping Barnet
* Cockfosters
* Croydon
* East Barnet
* Enfield Town (3 memorials)
* Finchley
* Friern Barnet (parish)
* Fulham
* Golders Green
* Hampstead
* Hampton Wick
* Hendon
* Hornsey
* Islington
* Kingston
* Monken Hadley
* New Barnet
* New Malden
* Paddington
* Poplar
* Rainham
* Richmond
* St Michael, Cornhill (parish)
* St Saviour, Southwark (parish)
* Silvertown
* Streatham
* Twickenham
* Promenade de Verdun, Woodcote
* Wood Green

Corporate|

* Baltic Exchange
* Bank of England
* British Medical Association
* Dulwich College
* Old
* New
* Great Eastern Railway
* Great Western Railway
* Lincoln's Inn
* London and North Western Railway
* London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
* Pearl Assurance†
* South Suburban Gas Company

Holocaust|

* Victoria Tower Gardens (planned)

* Hyde Park
* Kindertransport
* Stolperstein

Post-WWII|

* Victims of Communism
* Korean War
* Iraq and Afghanistan

Blue plaques|

* Camden
* Kensington and Chelsea
* City of Westminster

Other works

| Sculptures|

* Atalanta
* The Barbican Muse
* Bellerophon Taming Pegasus
* The Bermondsey Lion
* Big 4‡
* Bull
* The Burghers of Calais
* Christ Child
* Cornerstone
* Crystal Palace Dinosaurs
* The Diver
* Dolphin lamp standards
* Dragon boundary marks
* Elfin Oak
* Enwrought Light
* Father Time
* Fulcrum
* The Gold Smelters
* Gorilla
* The Hampstead Figure
* Homage to Leonardo
* Icarus
* Labyrinth
* Liberty Clock
* London Noses
* London Pride
* The Meeting Place
* The Messenger
* Millennium Dial
* Monolith and Shadow
* The Naked Ladies
* The Neighbours
* Nelson's Ship in a Bottle
* Nike
* Paternoster Vents
* Peckham Arch
* Physical Energy
* Platforms Piece
* Pope's Urn
* Putney Sculpture Trail
* The Queen's Beasts
* The Rush of Green
* St Paul's Cross
* Sculpture in the City‡
* Skylon†
* Slipstream
* South Bank Lion
* Still Water
* Tortoises with Triangle and Time
* Traffic Light Tree
* Union (Horse with Two Discs)
* The Watchers
* The World Turned Upside Down
* The Young Lovers

| Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square‡|

* The End
* Hahn/Cock
* Nelson's Ship in a Bottle
* One & Other

|

Elisabeth Frink|

* Blind Beggar and his Dog
* Horse and Rider
* Paternoster

Barbara Hepworth|

* Meridian†
* Single Form (Memorial)
* Two Forms (Divided Circle)†
* Winged Figure

Henry Moore|

* The Arch 1979–1980
* Draped Seated Woman 1957–58
* Knife Edge Two Piece 1962–65
* Large Standing Figure (Knife Edge)
* Locking Piece
* Three Standing Figures 1947

Eduardo Paolozzi|

* The Artist as Hephaestus†
* Piscator

The Line‡|

* ArcelorMittal Orbit
* Here
* Quantum Cloud
* Liberty Grip
* A Slice of Reality

Fountains|

* Buxton Memorial
* Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain
* Diana Fountain, Bushy Park
* Diana Fountain, Green Park
* Edward VII Jewish Memorial Fountain
* Henry Fawcett Memorial
* The Horses of Helios
* Guilford Place
* Matilda Fountain
* Poets' Fountain†
* Readymoney Drinking Fountain
* Revolving Torsion
* Roehampton
* St Lawrence Jewry and St Mary Magdalene
* Shaftesbury Memorial ("Eros")
* Lady Henry Somerset Memorial
* Victoria Park

Murals|

* Brixton
* Children at Play
* Cable Street
* Dulwich
* Old Kent Road
* National Covid Memorial Wall
* Poplar Rates Rebellion
* Poured Lines
* Sutton twin towns
* Sutton Heritage Mosaic

| Banksy|

* From this moment despair ends and tactics begin
* Girl with Balloon†
* One Nation Under CCTV†
* Pulp Fiction†
* Slave Labour†

|

Land art|

* Northala Fields

See also|

* Art on the Underground
* Tube map covers
* Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm
* London Mural Preservation Society
* Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association

By location

* City of London
* Barking and Dagenham
* Barnet
* Bexley
* Brent
* Bromley
* Camden
* Croydon
* Ealing
* Enfield
* Greenwich
* Hackney
* Hammersmith and Fulham
* Haringey
* Harrow
* Havering
* Hillingdon
* Hounslow
* Islington
* Kensington and Chelsea
* Kingston
* Lambeth
* Lewisham
* Merton
* Newham
* Redbridge
* Richmond
* Southwark
* Sutton
* Tower Hamlets
* Waltham Forest
* Wandsworth

City of Westminster|

* Belgravia1
* Covent Garden2
* Green Park
* Hyde Park
* Kensington1
* Kensington Gardens1
* Knightsbridge1
* Mayfair
* Millbank
* Paddington
* Pimlico
* St James's
* St Marylebone
* Soho
* Strand
* Trafalgar Square
* Victoria
* Victoria Embankment3
* Westminster
* Whitehall

* 1 Partly in Kensington and Chelsea
* 2 Partly in Camden
* 3 Partly in the City of London

Key: † No longer extant, on public display or in London (see List of public art formerly in London) * ‡ Changing displays
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[C20]: 20th century