Southwood Memorial In St James'S Churchyard

The Southwood Memorial stands in St James's Churchyard, Piccadilly, and dates to 1947-8. It was designed by A E Richardson, with sculpture by Alfred F Hardiman, and constructed by skilled deaf and dumb masons under the supervision of Rattee and Kett. The memorial is a Portland stone fountain, oval in shape (22ft 3in by 13ft 3in), featuring four bronze figures of children. The fountain has a high back with upturned volutes, set against a raised garden created through a bequest from Viscount Southwood. Steps with retaining walls on either side provide access to the garden and are integrated into the fountain’s design. Two small figures ride dolphins within the fountain's basin, while two more figures perch on conch shells positioned on the piers of the retaining walls. The back of the monument is inscribed 'VISCOUNT SOUTHWOOD', and behind it are niches containing caskets with the ashes of Viscount Southwood (1873-1946) and his wife, Alice Louise Stone (1865-1951).

The memorial was commissioned after Julius Salter Elias, later created Baron and then Viscount Southwood, bequeathed funds to St James's, Piccadilly. The garden was intended as a symbol of the church's wartime bombing and subsequent restoration, a tribute to the resilience of Londoners, and a tranquil space away from the city’s hustle. Land adjacent to the churchyard was purchased and dedicated by the Bishop of London on 12 May 1946. The figures on the memorial commemorate Southwood’s work as Chairman of what is now Great Ormond Street Hospital. The sculptor, Alfred Hardiman, died before the monument's unveiling. The memorial is included on the list for its quality of sculpture, its innovative garden design, and its significance as a poignant reminder of the early post-war rebuilding period.