Britannia at the top of Nelson's monument

The Nelson's Monument is a commemorative

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

built in memorial to

Admiral Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

, situated on the Denes,

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

in the county of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was designated as a Grade I listed structure in 1953.

History

Designed by architect William Wilkins, it was raised in the period 1817–19 from money raised by a committee of local magnates. The first custodian of the monument was former Able Seaman James Sharman, a member of the crew of HMS ''Victory'' from Norfolk and one of those who carried Nelson below decks after he was shot. The monument, correctly called the Norfolk Naval Pillar, is in the style of a

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column topped by six caryatid figures that support a statue of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

proudly standing atop a globe inscribed with the motto from Nelson's coat of arms ''Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat'' (translates to 'Let him who has merited it take the palm'), she holds an olive branch in her outstretched right hand, a trident in her left and looks inland – said to be towards Nelson's birthplace in

Burnham Thorpe Burnham Thorpe is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Burn, Norfolk, River Burn and near the coast of Norfolk, England. It is famous for being the birthplace of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson ...

in Norfolk. The whole monument is high, compared to for the monument in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

and the top is reached by some two hundred and seventeen steps. The structure was completely restored in time for the bicentenary of the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

in 2005. In 2006 it was removed from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

's Buildings At Risk register. In August 2006 it was rededicated. It currently stands, albeit separated in its own small railed plot, in an industrial estate. The monument is open to the public on a limited basis.Website
/ref> In the late nineteenth century, the original synthetic Coade Stone caryatids were replaced with concrete replicas. The figure of Britannia and the six caryatids were replaced by a fibreglass copy in 1982.

Dedications

At the base inscriptions commemorate Nelson's four main victories over Britain's enemies the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Spanish: * The Nile (Aboukir), 1, 2 August 1798, HMS ''Vanguard'' *

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 ...

, 1 April 1801, HMS ''Elephant'' * St Vincent, 14 February 1797, HMS ''Captain'' *

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

, 21 October 1805, HMS ''Victory'' On the top plinth are named four of the ships he sailed on for each battle. On the western face - i.e. inland again - a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

inscription reads: ''"This great man Norfolk boasts her own, not only as born there of a respectable family, and as there having received his early education, but her own also in talents, manners and mind."''

Song and poem

There is a song called "Nelson's Monument" which refers to the monument. The Irish poet

George Croly George Croly (17 August 1780 – 24 November 1860) was an Irish poet, novelist, historian, and Anglican priest. He was rector of St Stephen Walbrook in the City of London from 1835 until his death. Early life Croly was born in Dublin. His father ...

wrote the poem 'Nelson's Pillar' about this monument. The poem was written on the beach at

on a stormy evening, and was first published in 1818:

References

External links

Norfolk Coast
{{coord, 52.5884, 1.7336, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Columns related to the Napoleonic Wars Monuments and memorials in Norfolk Great Yarmouth Monumental columns in England Towers completed in 1819 Monuments and memorials to Horatio Nelson Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk

History

Dedications

Song and poem

See also

References

External links