The Statue of Thomas Guy: Man of Charity, Investor in Slavery

Sadie Mansfield is graduated from a BA in Liberal Arts

Constructed by renowned Flemish sculptor Peter Schneemaker and unveiled in 1734, this statue commemorates Thomas Guy as the founder of Guy’s Hospital. Schneemaker constructed the statue from brass and raised it above pedestrians upon a marble pedestal. The statue is accompanied by the inscription ‘THOMAS GUY SOLE FOUNDER OF THIS HOSPITAL IN HIS LIFETIME’, perhaps an attempt to refute the false accusations Guy faced after his death that he had not donated within his lifetime and only left money in his will.

The campus and nearby hospital itself would not exist without Guy’s charitable donations. Guy left £200,000 in his will – worth approximately £424.7 million in 2020 – to finance the establishment of the hospital. This wealth originated from the capital he invested in South Sea Company stock in 1711. This was on top of the £18,793 he had spent to initially build the hospital. While it was not uncommon at the time for gentlemen like Guy to engage in philanthropy, the creation of a new charitable institution with the financial backing to ensure its longevity does make his acts significant. The charitable donation left in his will was the largest in early eighteenth-century Britain by a significant amount.

What were Guy’s motivations for building the hospital? His social class and the status that charitable giving brought certainly would have played a part. Christian values, wherein the wealthy provided the less fortunate with aid, were imbued within his social status as a gentleman. To be seen as a Samaritan would have been desirable to Guy, and his varying charitable donations and previous role on the Board of Governors at St. Thomas’ Hospital certainly indicates that this was something he strived for. It seems his work certainly paid off in that regard; the statue was proposed by the executors of his will, who praised his ‘pious and honourable intentions’. The pedestal itself is decorated with depictions of scenes from the New Testament: of Christ healing, and of the Good Samaritan. While perhaps not a completely selfless act, the significance of his donation does indicate that Guy had a particular impulse to provide care for others, over and above some of his peers.

While the statue uplifts Guy for these charitable efforts, it does not tell the full story of his life and interests. The South Sea Company was involved in the shipment of enslaved Africans to Spanish America. Guy held shares in the company between 1711 and 1720. During this time, an estimated 15,901 enslaved individuals embarked on their vessels. Approximately 20% of these women, men and children perished during their voyage. Guy’s humanitarian desire seemingly did not extend to these enslaved individuals.

The statue was finished and unveiled ten years after Guy’s death, and maintains its prominent position in the entrance to the campus today. Since 2022, it has been accompanied by interpretation panels, commissioned by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation. They appeared after hoarding around the statue, hoarding that had shielded it from public view for the previous two years, was removed. The Foundation states on its website that they aim to ‘develop fuller stories’ about Thomas Guy and other individuals with connections to the hospitals and slavery. Visitors can scan a QR code on these panels to access a website with more information.

Since 2020, the Foundation has devoted increasing attention to these public history efforts. This is a direct result of the increased public awareness of the complexities associated with the decision to keep these monuments standing following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. As well as commissioning independent historical research on Guy, they consulted the public on their visions for the future of the statue. The results generated mixed responses, and more questions that still hang today as we consider the histories of these complicated individuals and the way they are commemorated today. Can we untangle Guy’s involvement in the slave trade from his celebrated charitable work, and how can we discuss these things together? Should the statue still sit in such a prominent position? Or should it even stand at all?

Sources

Bennett, Michael D. and Esther J. T. Brot, ‘Report on Thomas Guy, Sir Robert Clayton, and Our Shared Colonial Past: Sources, Context, Connections’ (2021). https://gsttfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Historical-Report.pdf.

Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Foundation, ‘The Statues of Sir Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy’ (November 2023). https://gsttfoundation.org.uk/our-work/arts-and-heritage/our-collection/statues/.

Hervey, Nick, ‘Guy, Thomas (1644/1724), Philanthropist and Founder of Guy’s Hospital’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (September 2004). https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/11800.

Solkin, David H, ‘Samaritan or Scrooge? The Contested Image of Thomas Guy in Eighteenth-Century England’, The Art Bulletin 78, 3 (September 1996), 467–84. https://doi.org/10.2307/3046196.

Xtend (UK) Ltd, ‘Exploring Narratives: Views on the Meaning and Future of the Statues of Sir Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy’ (2021). https://gsttfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Exploring-Narratives.pdf.