Charing Cross

WC In the square

Trafalgar Square is one of Britain's most important London landmarks and a focus for national demonstration and celebration. The square is named after Spanish Cape Trafalgar, where in 1805 British forces, led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeated a combined French and Spanish Fleet, in the most significant naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

John Nash first designed the layout of the Square in a Neo-classical style during the 1820s, but it was not until the 1840s that its focal point, Nelson’s Column was added. Admiral Nelson was one of Britain's best-loved heroes, after winning four notable naval battles, during which he lost an arm and one eye. The Battle of Trafalgar was his most famous, but also his last. The French and Spanish fleet lost 22 of their 33 ships during the Battle, whilst the British lost none, and Nelson died on the deck of H.M.S. Victory, leading his fleet.

Acanthus leaves cast from British cannons decorate the top, and at the base are bronze panels depicting scenes from Nelson’s four victorious battles – the Nile, Copenhagen, Cape St Vincent and Trafalgar. Guarding the column are 4 great lions. These superb statues were designed by Edwin Landseer, and are cast from bronze cannons captured from the defeated French fleet.

At the corners of the square are stone plinths which carry bronze statues of King George IV on horseback, Sir Henry Havelock and Sir Charles James Napier, who were both Victorian major generals. The fourth pedestal was intended to carry a statue of King William IV, but insufficient funds and later disagreement, left it empty. Over the years, it has been used to display several official and unofficial visiting works of sculpture, including a model of David Beckham, placed by Madame Tussauds during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

From Monday 6th July 2009 for 100 days the fourth plinth will display a living statue. 2,400 members of the public have been chosen to stand on the plinth for one hour each. Each person is free to wear and do whatever they please, with the first plinther being 35-year-old Rachel Wardell, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, who says she wants to "represent normal, everyday stay-at-home mums"

At the south end of the square you will find a statue of King Charles I on horseback. In 1675, this statue replaced the original site of the Charing Cross, erected by King Edward I in 1290. The king was so fond of his wife, Eleanor, that when she died, he marked the route of the funeral procession from Lincoln to her final resting-place at Westminster, with 12 crosses - each cross marking the spot where her coffin rested overnight. The final cross remained on this spot, until its removal during the English Civil War. 200 years later, a replica cross was placed in the forecourt at Charing Cross Station, which can still be seen today.

Top - Home