Nelson's Column

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Nelson's Column
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Nelson's Column
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.[3][4]
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.

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History
In February 1838, a group of 121 peers, Members of Parliament (MPs) and other
gentry formed a committee to raise a monument to Lord Nelson, funded by public
subscription, and the Government agreed to provide a site in Trafalgar Square, in
front of the newly completed National Gallery. A competition was held for designs with
an estimated budget of between £20,000 and £30,000. The deadline for submissions
was 31 January 1839.The winning entry, chosen by the sub-committee headed by the
Duke of Wellington was a design by William Railton for a Corinthian column,
surmounted by a statue of Nelson, and flanked by four sculpted lions. Flights of steps
would lead up between the lions to the pedestal of the column. Several other entrants
also submitted schemes for columns. The second prize was won by Edward Hodges
Baily who suggested an obelisk surrounded by sculptures.
Criticism of the organisation of the competition caused it to be re-run. Railton submitted a slightly
revised design, and was once again declared the winner, with the stipulation that the statue of
Nelson should be made by EH Baily. The original plan was for a column 203 feet (62 m) high,
including the base and statue, but this was reduced to 170 feet (52 m) with a shaft of 98 feet (30
m) due to concerns over stability.[7] The base was to have been of granite and the shaft of
Craigleith sandstone, but before construction began it was decided that the shaft should also be of
granite.[1]
Excavations for the brick foundations had begun by July 1840. On 30 September 1840, the first
stone of the column was laid by Charles Davison Scott, honorary secretary of the committee (and
son of Nelson's secretary, John Scott), at a ceremony conducted, according to the Nautical
Magazine, "in a private manner, owing to the noblemen and gentlemen comprising the committee
being absent from town".[8] Construction of the monument, by the contractors Grissell and Peto,
progressed slowly, and the stonework, ready for the installation of the statue, was not completed

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History
In 1844, the Nelson Memorial Committee ran out of money, having only raised £20,485 in
public subscriptions, and the Government, in the form of the Office of Woods and Forests took
over the project. Installation of the bronze reliefs on the pedestal did not begin until late 1849,
when John Edward Carew's depiction of the death of Nelson was put in place on the side
facing Whitehall. This was followed early the next year by William F. Woodington's relief of the
Battle of the Nile on the opposite side. Carew's relief was cast by Adams, Christie and Co. of
Rotherhithe. The other three were cast by Moore, Fressange and Moore. The last to be made,
The Battle of Cape St. Vincent became the subject of legal action, when it was discovered that
the bronze had been adulterated with iron. The partners in the company were jailed for fraud
and the relief was completed by Robinson and Cottam. It was finally put in place in May 1854.
The sandstone statue by Edward Hodges Baily. The 5.5-metre (18 ft 1 in) statue at the top was
sculpted by Edward Hodges Baily R.A. from three pieces of Craigleith sandstone donated by
the Duke of Buccleuch, former chairman of the Nelson Memorial Committee, from his own
quarries. The statue stands on a fluted column built from solid blocks of granite from the
Foggintor quarries on Dartmoor.[15] The Corinthian capital is made of bronze elements, cast
from cannon salvaged from the wreck of HMS Royal George[16] at the Woolwich Arsenal
foundry. It is based on the Temple of Mars Ultor in Rome, and was modelled by C.H. Smith..
The bronze pieces, some weighing as much as 900 pounds (410 kg) are fixed to the column
by the means of three large belts of metal lying in grooves in the stone. One of the four lions
designed by Edwin Landseer at the base. The four identical bronze Barbary lions[18] at the
column's base were not added until 1867. At one stage, they were intended to be of granite,
and the sculptor John Graham Lough was chosen to carve them. However, in 1846, after
consultations with Railton, he turned down the commission, unwilling to work under the
restrictions imposed by the architect.[19][20] The sculptures eventually installed,
commissioned in 1858, were designed by Sir Edwin Landseer in collaboration with Baron
Marochetti.

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History
Their design may have been influenced by Marschalko János's lions at each abutment to the
Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) in Budapest, installed 6 years before the Trafalgar Square
lions were commissioned. Landseer was paid £6,000 for his services, and Marochetti £11,000.
In 2011, consultants for the Greater London Authority reported that tourists climbing onto the
backs of the lions have caused considerable damage and recommended banning tourists from
climbing them. The column also had a symbolic importance to Adolf Hitler. If Hitler's plan to
invade Britain, Operation Sea Lion, had been successful, he planned to move it to Berlin.
Refurbishment
The column was refurbished in 2006, during which time it was scaffolded from top to bottom for
access. Steam cleaning was used together with gentle abrasives to minimise any harmful impact
on the bronze and stonework.[23] The £420,000 cost was covered by Zurich Financial Services,
which advertised on the scaffolding for the duration of the work. Before restoration began, laser
surveys were taken during which it was found that the column was significantly shorter than the
usually quoted 185 ft (56.4 m). In fact, it measures 169 ft (51.5 m) from the bottom of the first
step to the tip of the admiral's hat.[3][4]

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Nelson’s Column today
Today Nelson’s Column is the best known of the statues in Trafalgar Square, which also
includes an equestrian statue of George V and statues of Sir Charles James Napier and Sir
Henry Havelock. A fourth plinth has remained empty since 1840, and is currently used for a
series of exhibits by British artists. Trafalgar Square, where Nelson’s Column stands, is well
known for a variety of uses: the Christmas tree donated each year by the Norwegians in
thanks for their liberation at the end of World War Two; political rallies of all descriptions;
pigeons (once fed, now evicted); and, of course, New Year’s Eve celebrations. On a more
cultural note, on the north side of the square stands the National Gallery, home to some of the
world’s most famous art.
Getting to Nelson’s Column
Nelson’s Column is located in Trafalgar Square in London, and can be reached via a number of
public transport options. The closest Underground station is Charing Cross, whose exit/entrance
is on the square itself, while Charing Cross train station is a 3-minute walk away. A number of bus
services also run to the surrounding streets, including Strand and Cockspur St.

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7 Facts About Nelson’s Column in
Trafalgar Square
1. Nelson’s Column was built between 1840 and 1843, after William Railton won a protracted
competition to design the structure. The original decision to award Railton the contract was
overturned, but his design emerged triumphant in the re-run.
2. The monument is built of the Corinthian order, a style of ancient Greek and Roman
architecture. It is characterised by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals, which are
decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls.
3. Nelson’s Column cost £47,000 to built in the 1840s, which is the equivalent of between £3
million and £4 million today. Most of the money came from private investors, with the Tsar of
Russia footing more than a quarter of the bill on his own.
4. Nelson’s Column was constructed out of Dartmoor granite and weighs around 2,500 tonnes.
It was originally meant to be built entirely out of sandstone, but the plan was changed shortly
before construction started.
5. The 18 ft 1 in (5.5 m) statue of Admiral Nelson which stands on top of the column, designed
by Sir Edwin Landseer, is built out of sandstone rather than granite.
6. Part of Admiral Nelson’s shoulder was chipped when the column was struck by lightning
during an electrical storm in 1896.
7. When the column was measured in 2006, during a £420,000 renovation, it was discovered
that the monument is 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) shorter than had always been thought. The actual
height of Nelson’s Column, from the bottom of the pedestal to the top of Nelson’s hat, is 169 ft
3 in (51.6 m).

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The End
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