Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column rises in Trafalgar Square, City of Westminster, London, above a Corinthian granite shaft. A statue of Horatio Nelson stands 51.5 metres above the square. Four bronze lions guard the pedestal, while the National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Canada House, and South Africa House stand nearby.
William Railton designed the monument, built between 1840 and 1843 to commemorate Nelson's death at Trafalgar in 1805. Edward Hodges Baily carved the Craigleith sandstone statue, showing Nelson with his sword in his left hand. Four bronze reliefs portray Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen, and Nelson's death at Trafalgar. Captured French cannons supplied the bronze for those panels, linking the pedestal to his naval victories. Trafalgar Square took shape on the former King's Mews site during the early nineteenth century, after the royal stables moved to Buckingham Palace.
Sir Edwin Landseer designed the lions, which Carlo Marochetti cast and added in 1867. The right sleeve remains tucked into Nelson's coat, recalling the arm he lost in battle. Bronze elements at the summit came from melted cannon salvaged from an eighteenth-century British warship. The square's fourth plinth has displayed contemporary art since 1999, while the monument holds Grade I listed status. A 2006 refurbishment revealed that the column stood about 14.5 feet shorter than previously believed.
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