Thomas Guy statue back on display as debate over links to slavery continue

The statue of Thomas Guy, outside the hospital he founded, has been put back on public display for the first time since it was covered up in the summer of 2020 amid controversy about the benefactor’s financial links to the slave trade. 

The toppling of a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol because of links to the slave trade prompted a hoarding up of the famous Peter Scheemakers-designed statue of 1732, which stands in the hospital forecourt. 

Thomas Guy, who founded Guy’s Hospital, made his fortune from shares in a company that was involved in the slave trade, and there is recognition from the guardians of the statue – the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation – that its future is up for debate. 

It conducted an independent public consultation on the matter in 2020 and two recommendations emerged – removal to a less prominent position in the long-term and, in the short-term, the adding of interpretation panels to give context and information about Guy’s past. 

As a Grade-II listed building, removal to a different location would require government approval, as does conservation work. The statue is currently undergoing an eight-week assessment by specialists to determine what work needs to be carried out to preserve it. 

The NHS hospital trust does not have a direct say in the statue’s future, but is ‘working alongside’ the foundation on the issue.

An historical review commissioned by the foundation concluded: “Guy maintained a large financial stake in a company that transported 15,901 enslaved Africans across the Atlantic between the years that he was an investor. 

“Guy’s £45,500-worth of invested capital in South Sea stock helped to finance the SSC’s slave trade and its colonial aspirations from 1711 and 1720.” 

Others contend that Guy’s financial ties to slavery were at worst indirect and shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow his contribution to local healthcare over the past three centuries. 

For much of the period since the controversy first arose, the site of the Thomas Guy statue has been shielded from public view by the presence of marquees hosting Covid vaccination centres. 

Now the foundation has removed the hoardings for the conservation work from the statue of Thomas Guy and from the one of Sir Robert Clayton – a former Lord Mayor of London, and another divisive figure as a shareholder in another slave-trade enterprise. 

“The first step is an expert assessment of the statues to determine the extent of the conservation needed,” the foundation said in a statement this week. 

Pictured top: The statue of Thomas Guy (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Ethan Doyle White)