Historic England names controversial ‘love lock’ as the millennial memorial of choice
MEMORIALS were once the preserve of great leaders, military figures, brave soldiers and kings. But the modern day memorial is rather different, as Historic England has shown by naming the “love lock” as the millennial monument of choice.
The public body, charged with conserving England’s historic landmarks, has decided to celebrate the trend for padlocks fastened to bridges and railings in an exhibition called Immortalised.
Not without controversy, the locks became popular with couples who engraved their names on them before securing them to a meaningful location.
In Paris, where the trend is thought to have started, authorities had to remove the locks after part of the Pont des Arts collapsed under their weight. Historic England takes no official position on the locks, said a spokesman.
Celia Richardson, director of communications, said these were challenges every generation had to deal with. “It’s important to us to take a look at the folk element of this, how ordinary people want to leave a mark and have some sort of permanence,” she said.
Historic England, which is staging an exhibition of monuments that includes the Tower of London’s First World War poppy memorial, blue plaques and even recipes named after luminaries, such as beef wellington. It also includes the Gareth Southgate Tube sign, erected to hail the football manager’s England World Cup achievements.
Highlighting the lack of diversity in England’s statues, with just three per cent celebrating ordinary women and four per cent for ethnic minorities, the exhibition aims to provoke thought and discussion, said Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief.
Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture, said in an introduction to the show: “If aliens landed in London, what conclusions would they draw from our monuments? They might conclude we are a nation of kings and generals, we’ve mastered asexual reproduction and our primary transport is the horse.”
Immortalised opens today at The Workshop in Lambeth, south London.