Getting to walk around London has been a wonderful experience. Everywhere you turn is layered with history and progress. I find the mix of modern and old architecture just spectacular. We marvel at the Tower of London, dating back to William the Conqueror in 1066, as it sits in the foreground in front of the gleaming glass of London’s modern skyline. Within this setting, it’s inescapable to connect to Charles Dickens’ own opening of A Tale of Two Cities.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… in short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on it being received , for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only”
While Dickens’ was writing about the comparison of 1775 and 1859, the sentiment holds true in 2026.
When you walk around Westminster Abbey, it’s hard to not feel in awe of the incredible feat of human achievement. It’s easy to wander around and remark at how beautiful it is. It’s nearly inevitable to snap an aesthetic picture for your Instagram story, which I admit, I did. But as the initial shock wears off, you realize the church worships its monarchy as much as its faith. There are plaques commemorating the “brave” souls who, we now recognize, were colonizers. At every moment in time, we reach new highs in human achievements and new lows in humanity.
I started to feel like “the mender of roads”, from A Tale of Two Cities, so easily distracted from reasoning by beautiful presentation. When you look upon the royalties beautiful shrines, its difficult to not fall under their influence. From the outside it isn’t easy to understand the royalists of 1775, how could they possibly want a monarchy with how they treat them? But then you walk by Buckingham palace, and while you may not understand, you certainly gleam some insight.
The past is nuanced, complicated, and long. Just as Dickens’ presents many points of views and opinions in his book, London shared its own stories as we made our way around the city.
On a surface level, the many statues scattered around the city add to its artistic and charming nature. But if you read the plaques, or are lucky enough to have a professor who is very knowledgeable in British history, you can get a glimpse into the mixed beliefs of the people's past.
The statue of Oliver Cromwell stands directly outside the House of Commons. Across the way the small bust of King Charles I is mounted to St. Margaret’s Church. While I had never heard of Cromwell before the class, much to the disbelief of our professor, I quickly learned his significance and a brief understanding of his complicated story. Cromwell was a commander in The New Model Army in 1645, who fought against an absolute monarchy in the English Civil War. He later played a large role in the execution of Charles I. In 1899, the statue was placed in front of the parliamentary House of Commons. It was controversial from the beginning. Some people opposed it for his anti-monarchy views, while others opposed his later shift into a military dictator and the role he played in Ireland. The glaring face of Charles I, who looks directly across at Cromwell, highlights this opposition well. The symbol of Cromwell, checking the power of the monarchy as he stands in front of Parliament is powerful and articulates this moment in history better than simply reading about it.
Not surprisingly, many of the statues we saw were described as controversial figures. I suppose if you are important enough to have a statue in England, you probably have to be controversial. There are statues of colonizers, conquerors and kings as well as more modern figures like Winston Churchill.
I also found the statues of Trafalgar Square fascinating. The square contains four plinths, but only three statues. The first of George IV, the second Sir Charles James Napier, the third Sir Henry Havelock. The fourth plinth was, I apologize that I keep using this word, controversial. It remained empty for a while and suggestions kept cropping up. After Margaret Thatcher’s death, she was even in the conversation. That was, even for England, too controversial. Thus it was finally decided to use the fourth plinth as a rotating art installation. When we visited, the artwork included casts of nonbinary and queer peoples faces. It is quite extraordinary to have Charles I on one corner and a testament to human progress on another.
As we read about A Tale of Two Cities, we’ve spoken about the arc of history and the march towards democracy. I feel these statues demonstrate this quite beautifully.
Another statue I found quite moving, and incidentally related to A Tale of Two Cities and Les Miserables, is not really an official statue at all. Banksy, the street artist and activist, has recently installed a piece at Waterloo Place. When the class came across it, we spoke about how we each interpreted it. Blinded by the own flag he carries, the figure is about to step off his own plinth. Most of us felt it is a reference to blind patriotism, especially with its proximity to Britain’s Military prowess. I also thought it was really cool that the statue was being looked over by a security guard. In this instance, the right to speak out was not only being allowed but protected. \
The tragedy during the fight for democracy in A Tale of Two Cities can be harrowing, but I hope that these small yet meaningful acts would make the people in the arc of history proud.