The Wellington statue in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

is a monument to

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

, victor at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

and later prime minister of the United Kingdom. Sculpted by

Matthew Cotes Wyatt Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was a painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors. Early life Wyatt was born in London, the son of the architect James ...

, it was the largest

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

in Britain when it was unveiled at its original location on the

Wellington Arch Wellington Arch, also known as Constitution Arch or (originally) as the Green Park Arch, is a Listed building, Grade I-listed triumphal arch by Decimus Burton that forms a centrepiece of Hyde Park Corner in central London, between corners of ...

Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the junc ...

in 1846.

Origins

In 1837 a committee was formed under the chairmanship of the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in who ...

to raise sufficient funds for a memorial to the Duke of Wellington. The sculptor was

. In the statue Wellington is shown on

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, the famous charger he had ridden at Waterloo. Much of the bronze in the statue is derived from French cannon captured at Waterloo and remelted in Wyatt's

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. Wellington himself sat for the sculptor; Copenhagen, however, had died and a substitute horse was used as a model. This offended many at the time, who saw a poor likeness to Copenhagen in the statue. The position selected for the sculpture was on top of the triumphal arch at

, built in 1827–28 in conjunction with an Ionic screen as part of a processional route between the park and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. Wellington had his London residence at

Apsley House Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. It i ...

, immediately next to the screen. The work was executed at Wyatt's workshop at Dudley House in the Harrow Road, starting in May 1840. The modelling work was done by Wyatt's son James Wyatt. The model consisted of more than three tons of

plaster of Paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

formed over a timber frame with a beam for the backbone and transverse timbers like the ribs of a ship. The model was on a turntable in diameter and the artists could reach all parts of it by means of an adjustable stage that could be raised and lowered. The modelling work took three years. For casting, the model was lowered into a pit in a specially built foundry. The statue was cast in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

melted in two furnaces; one could melt twelve tons at a time, but this was found insufficient, so a second furnace of 20 tons capacity was constructed. Even so, the body of the horse and the lower limbs of the Duke were cast in two pieces and the rest of the statue was cast in a further six pieces, all between thick. The legs of the horse were cast solid so as to bear the great weight. At the time it was the largest

in Britain, being high, from Copenhagen's nose to tail, and in girth. It weighed 40

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s. In 1846 the statue was moved with great pageantry from Wyatt's workshop to Hyde Park Corner. It was transported on a huge, low carriage with wheels in diameter, constructed by H.M. Dockyards at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. The carriage was hauled by a hundred men of the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

; as it emerged on to the road, it was greeted by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd of sightseers. Twenty-nine horses then drew the carriage to Hyde Park Corner. It took some hours to get the statue into position for hoisting and the final lift and fixing into position on the victory arch was completed the following day. File:Wellington -Wyatts Foundry -ILN 1846.jpg, The statue leaves Wyatt's foundry in 1846 File:wellington-statue-1846.jpg, 'The Grand Procession of the Wellington Statue, Turning Down Park Lane' ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' 3 October 1846 File:Wellington Statue 1846.jpg, The completed statue in 1846 showing its dimensions File:Wellington on Arch 2.jpg, The statue on

, c. 1850s

Move to Aldershot

Many thought the statue out of proportion to the arch: its architect,

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

, especially disliked it, and left money in his will for the statue's removal.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

also regarded it as an eyesore, marring the view from Buckingham Palace; however, it could not be tactfully moved during the lifetime of the Duke of Wellington, who would have seen such a move as an insult. In 1882–83 the arch was moved a short distance, to its present location on

; the statue of Wellington was removed and left in Green Park while its future location was debated. In 1883 the Prince of Wales, the future King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, suggested that it should be moved to Aldershot Military Town, "where it will be highly regarded by the Army". Eventually Parliament agreed with his suggestion and the statue was taken to Aldershot for reassembly. Its removal from the arch had been a relief to the many critics who had considered it out of proportion and inappropriate for such a location. On a visit to Aldershot, the Prince of Wales selected Round Hill, close by the

Royal Pavilion The Royal Pavilion, and surrounding gardens, also known as the Brighton Pavilion, is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George IV of t ...

and Royal Garrison Church, as the new site for the statue. Moving Wyatt's creation from London was no mean feat. However, it was successfully and ceremoniously handed to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in August 1885 in front of a large crowd of onlookers. File:Wellington- Removal ILN 1883.jpg, Lowering the statue in 1883 File:Moving the Wellington Statue, Hyde Park Corner, London (sketched April 24) - ILN 1883 (cropped).jpg, The statue being moved to storage in 1883 File:Re-erection Wellington 1885.jpg, Re-erection at Aldershot in 1885 File:Wellington Statue, Aldershot.JPG, The statue at Aldershot, 2014

Restoration

The statue fell into a poor condition in the latter half of the twentieth century, being largely hidden behind overgrown trees and bushes on Round Hill. In early 2004 Aldershot Garrison, supported by local conservation groups and volunteers, commenced a major restoration project to restore it to its original condition. The bushes were cleared and the statue was re-bronzed. The Friends of the

Aldershot Military Museum Aldershot Military Museum in Aldershot Military Town in Hampshire, England was conceived by former Aldershot Garrison Commander, Brigadier John Reed (1926–1992). Reed believed that it was essential to preserve the history of the military town ...

have taken on the role of "Friends of the Statue", supported by Aldershot Garrison, Rushmoor Council and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership. As of November 2022, a visit to the statue is rated by Tripadvisor as 19th-best thing to do in Aldershot.

References

General references

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External links

The Wellington statue
–

Wellington statue project
Friends of Aldershot Military Museum

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