'Sam' the Cat

London is full of statues of monarchs, politicians, generals, soldiers, horses, wild animals and lots more. The ones that I love discovering, though, are the smaller, lesser known ones... such as this one.

This statue depicts a cat poised to jump from a brick wall, possibly to land on an unsuspecting bird or mouse. Sam was a real cat and he was commissioned to recognise his owner, Patricia Penn. 

Patricia Penn (Penny), 1914-1992, was a nurse, campaigner, champion of community causes, member of the Queen's Square Resident's Association and cat lover.

Queen Square Gardens is bordered by hospitals, institutes and other medical practices.

When Patricia Penn died, in 1992, the local community commissioned this statue of her favourite cat, Sam, in memory of her. It is said that during committee meetings Patricia would say, "Sam told me something is going on,", as a way of saying that she had heard rumours.

The statue was unveiled in 2002, to mark the 10th anniversary of her passing, but was stolen just 5 years later, in 2007.

A new statue of Sam was installed in 2009. This time steel rods, drilled into the bricks, now secure him to his spot on the wall.