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Nelson's Column

1843 establishments in EnglandBuildings and structures completed in 1843Colossal statues in the United KingdomColumns related to the Napoleonic WarsGrade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Grade I listed monuments and memorialsGrade I listed statues in the City of WestminsterMonumental columns in LondonMonuments and memorials in LondonMonuments and memorials to Horatio NelsonNeoclassical architecture in LondonSculptures of lionsTourist attractions in the City of WestminsterTrafalgar Square
Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, London
Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, London

Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000 (equivalent to £4,717,346 in 2020). It is a column of the Corinthian order built from Dartmoor granite. The statue of Nelson was carved from Craigleith sandstone by sculptor Edward Hodges Baily. The four bronze lions around its base, designed by Sir Edwin Landseer, were added in 1867.The pedestal is decorated with four bronze relief panels, each 18 feet (5.5 m) square, cast from captured French guns. They depict the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar. The sculptors were Musgrave Watson, William F. Woodington, John Ternouth and John Edward Carew, respectively. It was refurbished in 2006 at a cost of £420,000 (equivalent to £621,277 in 2020), at which time it was surveyed and found to be 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) shorter than previously supposed. The whole monument is 169 feet 3 inches (51.59 m) tall from the bottom of the pedestal to the top of Nelson's hat.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Nelson's Column (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Nelson's Column
Trafalgar Square, London Covent Garden

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N 51.507722222222 ° E -0.12797222222222 °
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Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square
WC2N 5DP London, Covent Garden
England, United Kingdom
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Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, London
Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square, London
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Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square ( trə-FAL-gər) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, established in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemorates his victory at Battle of Trafalgar, the British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar. The site around Trafalgar Square had been a significant landmark since the 1200s. For centuries, distances measured from Charing Cross have served as location markers. The site of the present square formerly contained the elaborately designed, enclosed courtyard, King's Mews. After George IV moved the mews to Buckingham Palace, the area was redeveloped by John Nash, but progress was slow after his death, and the square did not open until 1844. The 169-foot (52 m) Nelson's Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues. A number of commemorative statues and sculptures occupy the square, but the Fourth Plinth, left empty since 1840, has been host to contemporary art since 1999. Prominent buildings facing the square include the National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Canada House, and South Africa House. The square has been used for community gatherings and political demonstrations, including Bloody Sunday in 1887, the culmination of the first Aldermaston March, anti-war protests, and campaigns against climate change. A Christmas tree has been donated to the square by Norway since 1947 and is erected for twelve days before and after Christmas Day. The square is a centre of annual celebrations on New Year's Eve. It was well known for its feral pigeons until their removal in the early 21st century.

Charing Cross
Charing Cross

Charing Cross ( CHARR-ing) is a junction in London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; Northumberland Avenue leading to the Thames Embankment; Whitehall leading to Parliament Square; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall. The name also commonly refers to the Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross at Charing Cross station. A bronze equestrian statue of Charles I, erected in 1675, stands on a high plinth, situated roughly where a medieval monumental cross had previously stood for 353 years (since its construction in 1294) until destroyed in 1647 by Cromwell and his revolutionary government. The famously beheaded King, appearing ascendant, is the work of French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur. The aforementioned homonymous monument, the "Charing Cross", was the largest and most ornate instance of a chain of medieval Eleanor crosses running from Lincoln to this location. It was a landmark for many centuries of the hamlet of Charing, Westminster, which later gave way to government property; a little of The Strand; and Trafalgar Square. The cross in its various historical forms has also lent its name to its locality, and especially Charing Cross Station. On the forecourt of this terminus station stands the ornate Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross, a taller emulation of the original, and built to mark the station's opening in 1864 – at the height and in the epicentre of the Gothic Revival – after the Palace of Westminster's rebuilding and before Westminster Cathedral's construction. Until 1931, "Charing Cross" also referred to the north end of Whitehall (between Great Scotland Yard and Trafalgar Square). In street numbering, Drummonds Bank, on the corner with The Mall, retains the associated address 49 Charing Cross (not to be confused with Charing Cross Road).Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and is now the point from which distances from London are measured.