Gog & Magog, Guildhall.

Gog & Magog, Guildhall. These huge figures are the traditional guardians of the City of London and have been carried in the Lord Mayor's Show since the reign of Henry V. Wikpedia says: "Two giants, Gog and Magog, are associated with the Guildhall. Legend has it that the two giants were chained to the gates of a palace on the site of Guildhall. Carvings of Gog and Magog are kept in the Guildhall and taken out and paraded in the annual Lord Mayor's Show. An early version of Gog and Magog were destroyed in the Guildhall during the Great Fire of London. They were replaced in 1708 by a large pair of wooden statues carved by Captain Richard Saunders [as in this print]. These giants, on whom the current versions are based, lasted for over two hundred years before they were destroyed in the Blitz. They in turn were replaced by a new pair carved by David Evans in 1953 and given to the City of London by Alderman Sir George Wilkinson, who had been Lord Mayor in 1940 at the time of the destruction of the previous versions."