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The South Bank Lion
The South Bank Lion also known as the Coade Stone Lion after the women who invented the material from which it is made is located on the south side of Westminster Bridge and weighs 13-tons showing no signs of ageing in its 150 years.
The Coade Stone from which the South Bank Lion is made from is a remarkable piece of pottery and is the most waterproof stone ever made, its used for many other statues and buildings in London including the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, and Buckingham Palace.
The Lion was originally red and stood above the entrance arch of the Lion Brewery near Hungerford Bridge. The French novelist Emile Zola after a visit to London in 1893 wrote, 'it amused me greatly, this British Lion waiting to wish me good morning'.
the Lion Brewery was blitzed in the Second World War but the stone lion survived, and was moved to Westminster Bridge in 1951 for the Festival of Britain celebrations. After the Festival of Britain it was moved to the entrance of Waterloo Station at the request of George VI but in 1966 it was moved back to its present location next to Westminster Bridge.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Bank)
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