The great-great-great grandson of Charles Dickens will unveil a golden sculpture of a dog licking from a bowl outside Southwark tube station to mark the author’s birthday.

In the 19th century, Charles Dickens used to pass a sign of dog licking from a golden pot above an ironmongers at the corner of Blackfriars Road and Union Street each day as he walked to central London from his lodgings on Lant Street.

Aged just 12 at the time, his father had recently been imprisoned for debt at Marshalsea Prison and the sign became a symbol of his endurance and ambition to succeed in life.

The elm wood version is being moved to the Southwark Heritage Centre

A replica of the ‘Dog and Pot’ sculpture will be formally unveiled by Ollie Dickens on next Saturday 7 February to mark both the author’s 214th birthday and the 60th anniversary of the creation of the modern borough of Southwark in 1965.

The sculpture, designed by artist Jason Brooks, will replace a nearly identical elm-wood version unveiled in 2013 by Ollie’s father Mark, which will be transferred to the Southwark Heritage Centre on Walworth Road for display later this year.

The 23.5-carat gilded version will be better able to resist the elements as gold-leaf offers a natural weather-resistant shield.

Both dog sculptures were designed by artist Jason Brooks

It also invokes the original sign, which survives today although it was badly damaged in the 2013 Walworth Town Hall fire. The decision to gild the sculpture was taken after recent conservation analysis discovered traces of gold on the original sign, which dates to the 1720s, confirming Dickens’ recollection of a ‘dog licking from a golden pot’.

Event Details:

  • Date: 7 February 2026
  • Time: 2:00 pm (Speeches begin) | 2:20 pm (Ribbon-cutting)
  • Location: Corner of Union Street and Blackfriars Road (Opposite Southwark Tube)

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Ollie Dickens (Great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens)
  • Cllr Ellie Cumbo (Cabinet Member for Parks, Streets and Clean Air)
  • Eva Gomez (Head of Culture, Southwark Council)
  • Cllr David Watson (Local Ward Councillor)
  • Judy Aitken (Curator, Libraries and Heritage Team, Southwark Council)