Tate Britain, Millbank SW1

Dirce's niece Antiope was one of the many Ancient Greek women impregnated by Zeus. She gave birth to twins, Amphion and Zethus, who were abandoned in a cave to be brought up by a shepherd when Antiope was brought back to the family by force. Dirce treated the fallen girl abominably, eventually forcing her to flee to the very cave where her sons were by then grown up men. Dirce followed her, whereupon the young men tied her to the horns of a very furious bull and she was killed.
This charming classical tale is caught in this active sculpture of 1906 by Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge Bt. It was his master-work, exhibited at the Royal Academy and followed up by an enormous marble version for the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908. The bronze was donated by his widow in 1911 and is placed outside the Tate because it is too big to go in any of the rooms, apparently. The marble version is in the grounds of the former family estate in Hertfordshire.
It is not in a very satisfactory position, really. The composition is clearly made to be seen from all angles, with the young murderers and the unfortunate aunt at each corner of a triangle with the bull in the middle, so its location abutting the side wall of the gallery's portico does not do it justice.
Lawes-Wittewronge was an aristocrat and athlete who changed his name from simply Lawes when he inherited the baronetcy, to honour an ancestor. He was made bankrupt after unwisely suggesting in print that rival sculptor Richard Belt was devoid of talent and that all the artistic merit of his works was provided by foreign assistants smuggled in and out of his studio by night.

Park Lane W1

The great poet sits silent upon a peak, pensive, with his beloved Newfoundland dog Boatswain staring lovingly up from his side, in this monumental statue of 1880 by Richard Charles Belt.

The plinth, a monstrous 57 ton block of red and white marble, was donated by the Greek government in recognition of Byron's service in the cause of independence.

Belt was an assistant in the studio of the sculptor John Foley, later moving to one of Foley's pupils, Charles Lawes and going solo in 1875. He won a competition for the Byron Monument in 1879.

After the unveiling, however, Lawes alleged in the pages of Vanity Fair that Belt used foreign assistants to create all his work including the Byron statue. Belt sued for libel and won, bankrupting Lawes in the process (but don't be too distressed: Lawes later copped a huge inheritance).

Today, sadly, the statue is almost inaccessible in the centre of one of the busiest roundabouts in London. The poet is barely able to hear his own thoughts above the traffic noise.

Hyde Park Corner W1

The Apsley House screen was intended as a grand entrance to Hyde Park, aligned with the Constitution Arch through which royal processions would pass on their way to the park. Both were designed by Decimus Burton.

The arch was moved to its current position at the top of Constitution Hill in 1882 when the road was widened, which is a very grand position for the arch but leaves the screen looking a little lost.

The screen's central arch is decorated with an ancient Greek victory parade carved by sculptor John Henning and his son, also John.
On the north side, facing the park, a figure of Victory with a laurel branch and spear stands in the middle with goddesses of peace and plenty complete with cornucopia. On either side the massive prows of triremes emerge from the waves. Sailors carry paddles and marines carry shields. At the right hand end, a lyre trio provides the music.
The south side is a parade of cavalry with a chariot in the middle, carrying a helmeted female probably intended to represent Britannia - note the lion being led behind her and the winged figure of Victory holding the head of one of the chariot's horses.
The sides continue the cavalry theme.
The figures are very vigorous and their is a lot going on but it is a bit small for the position - you need binoculars to make it all out.
John Henning Snr made reproducing the Elgin marbles his life's work, as the first sculptor who had gained permission from Lord Elgin to measure and draw them. He created slate moulds to make plaster miniatures just two inches high but 24ft long. Unfortunately they were so popular other sculptors with lower quality standards ripped them off and he never made the money that he should. His case was taken up in early arguments for the establishment of copyright in artistic works.

Marble Arch W1

Still Water is a 30ft high horse's head in bronze by horse sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green. It was installed in 2011 to replace a similar but slightly smaller work, Horse at Water, which had been on loan from Sir Antony and Lady Bamford.
It has an amazing presence. Even from behind (whatever 'behind' means in this context),

Boy and Frog, Queen Mary's Gardens NW1

The Boy and Frog is a delightful bronze by Sir William Reid Dick in 1936. It was donated to the park by rich artist Sigismund Goetze, who lived close by.
The statue was placed in the gardens when they were laid out in the 1930s after the departure of the Royal Botanical Society.

Triton Fountain, Queen Mary's Gardens NW1

The Triton Fountain was made by William McMillan in 1950 to commemorate the artist and philanthropist Sigismund Goetze, who lived and worked in Grove House (now Nuffield House) close by. His wife was the founder of the Constance Fund which donated fountains in Green Park and Hyde Park.

Triton - half man, half fish - was the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. He was the sea-god's herald, blowing his conch shell so mightily it could calm or raise the sea and put giants to flight.

Triton is accompanied by a couple of mermaids, who have divided tails in the way that brought so much prudish disapproval on Starbucks they had to change their original logo.

Pie Corner, Cock Lane EC1

The Golden Boy of Pie Corner marks the point where the Great Fire of London of 1666 finally burnt out. 

The fire started in Pudding Lane and though Pie Corner probably got its name from a pub called the Magpie, local wags joked that it was a punishment for the deadly sin of gluttony. Today, some seem to think that our forefathers meant this to be taken seriously, which is a terrible slur on the sense of humour of the folk that included Congreve, Etherege and Aphra Behn. They took the Catholic conspiracy theory very seriously, however.

The Golden Boy was carved in the early 18th century by a signmaker called Puckridge in Hosier Lane and placed over the door of the Fortunes of War tavern in Giltspur Street. He was painted, not gilt, and the inscription now seen on a stone plaque was inked on his chest.
The pub was demolished in 1910 but the Fat Boy delightfully still marks the spot where the fire died out.