See the Thatcher statue at the Guildhall Art Gallery

Whatever your opinion of Britain's first female Prime Minister, you cannot have failed to notice that Margaret Thatcher died of a stroke yesterday, and the news has understandably been dominated by her passing ever since. One quiet place where she will be remembered is the Guildhall Art Gallery, current home to an 8ft tall marble statue of the Iron Lady, designed by sculptor Neil Simmons.



Originally commissioned in 1998 by the House of Commons Speaker's Works of Art committee and funded - at a cost of £150,000 - by an anonymous donor, the statue was the victim of an attack in 2002, when it was decapitated by a man with a cricket bat. Though it has now been restored, another (better) statue has since been erected in the House of Commons, so it remains in the gallery until another home is found.

For the full story, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitation_of_a_statue_of_Margaret_Thatcher

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