The statues of Gog and Magog currently standing in the Guildhall were commissioned from sculptor David Evans after the previous versions were destroyed in the Blitz. The phoenix shield tells us that this is Magog. The previous statues stood for over two hundred years. They were carved by Captain Richard Saunders in 1708 to replace older wicker-and-plaster statues that had succumbed first to fire and then to rats and mice. Gog guards the Guildhall