Statue of Robert Raikes

The Statue of Robert Raikes is a bronze work that stands on a granite base in Victoria Embankment Gardens, showing the educational reformer in formal Victorian dress. The figure is positioned to face toward the garden paths and the nearby Thames, surrounded by trees and open lawn space.

Thomas Brock created this monument in 1880 to mark the centennial of Sunday schools, which Raikes had begun organizing for working-class children starting in the 1780s. Those schools represented a breakthrough in making basic education available to young people who had no other access to learning.

The statue reflects how much Victorian society valued education reform and wanted to honor those who brought schooling to poor children. Its placement in a public garden shows how the community chose to celebrate this achievement in a shared space.

The statue is located in a public garden with free access during daylight hours and the gardens remain open throughout the year. Several entrances surround the park, and nearby bus and underground stops make it straightforward to reach this area on foot from many directions.

The base of the monument bears inscriptions from Sunday school teachers and pupils across Great Britain, making it a collective memorial to the education movement. These engraved names and messages came from thousands of people who were part of this reform effort.