This monument depicts the traditional ritual known as ‘The Grand Flushing’ which dates back to the mid 18th Century. Part alchemy part political pageantry the ceremony was held after each English Prime Minister stepped down from office. The departing minister would have to partake in a process of public cleansing in which water (or more likely a fortified wine) was flushed through their body. The spectacle took place on the public water ways of London. It comprised of two people, the Flusher and The Flushee. It’s unclear if the procession was merely a symbolic gesture or it was thought to actually possess some cleansing qualities. Regardless it was thought to represent some form of absolving for any wrongdoing while in office.   

Some believe the procession was first held along London’s Regents Canal in 1828 after Viscount Goderich tenure as Prime Minister. Others speculate that it came into being after William Pitt ‘The Younger’s’ first stint in power. Sources have even claimed that he traversed the entire length of the Oxford Canal, an impressive 78 miles. Unfortunately, these are both nothing but conjecture as the evidence surrounding the origins is murky at best.  

The ceremony was eventually removed from public viewing and found its home behind the closed doors of newly emerging exclusive high-society clubs that were coming into fruition late in the century. David Cameron is the last known PM to have taken part in the ceremony, albeit in a private clinic near his residence in Holland Park.