Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square
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The fourth plinth is the northwest
plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
in central
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, but remained empty due to lack of funds. For over 150 years, its use was debated; in 1998, the
Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
(RSA) commissioned three contemporary sculptures to be displayed temporarily on the plinth. Shortly afterwards, Chris Smith,
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and po ...
, commissioned Sir John Mortimer to seek opinions from public art commissioners, critics and members of the public as to its future. Mortimer's final report recommended that there continue to be a rolling programme of commissioned temporary artworks rather than settle permanently on one figure or idea. In 2003, the ownership of Trafalgar Square was transferred from
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...
to the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
and this marked the beginning of the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Commission as it is now known.


The plinths

There is a plinth at each of the four corners of the square. The two southern plinths carry sculptures of Henry Havelock and
Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, ( ; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a major general of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the British military co ...
. The northern plinths are larger than those in the southern corners, as they were designed to have
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 ...
s, and indeed the northeastern plinth has one of George IV. The fourth plinth on the northwest corner, designed by Sir
Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...
and built in 1841, was intended to hold an equestrian statue of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
but remained empty due to insufficient funds.


The Fourth Plinth Project (1999–2001)

In 1998, the RSA conceived the Fourth Plinth Project, which temporarily occupied the plinth with a succession of works commissioned and established by the Cass Sculpture Foundation. These were: A committee convened to consider the RSA's late-1990s project concluded that it had been a success and "unanimously recommended that the plinth should continue to be used for an ongoing series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists". After several years in which the plinth stood empty, the new
Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...
assumed responsibility for Trafalgar Square and the fourth plinth.


The Fourth Plinth Commission (2005–present)

The Fourth Plinth Commission is led by the Mayor of London's Culture Team, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group. The group is made up of specialist advisers appointed to guide and monitor the commissions for the plinth. Under the stewardship of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, the following artworks have been commissioned:


Proposals for permanent statues

The best use of the fourth plinth remains the subject of debate and discussion. Proposals for permanent statues have included: * Nelson Mandela Statue: On 24 March 2003, an appeal was launched by Wendy Woods, the widow of the anti-
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
journalist
Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...
, hoping to raise £400,000 to pay for a statue of
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
by
Ian Walters Ian Homer Walters (9 April 1930 – 6 August 2006) was an English sculptor. Biography Born in Solihull, Walters was educated at Yardley Grammar school and under William Bloye at the Birmingham School of Art. After National Service in the Royal ...
. The relevance of the location was that
South Africa House South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
, the South African high commission, scene of many anti-apartheid demonstrations, is on the east side of Trafalgar Square. The statue was later placed in
Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and ...
instead. *
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group RAF, No. 11 Group was pivotal to t ...
statue: In February 2008, Terry Smith, the chief executive of trading house
Tullett Prebon TP ICAP Group plc is a financial services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its stock is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded by Derek Tullett in 1971 as a ...
, offered to pay more than £100,000 for a permanent statue acceptable to "ordinary Londoners" of
Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...
Sir Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the defeat of the ...
in recognition of his work as commander of
No. 11 Group RAF No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the B ...
during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
, as it was this Group that was responsible for the defence of London. A Greater London Authority spokesman said: "There are many worthy suggestions for statues on the fourth plinth and some people feel passionately about each of them. All proposals will be judged on their merits including its current use as one of the most high profile sites for contemporary public art in London. The cost of erecting the current work on the plinth is £270,000. The cost of a permanent monument is likely to be considerably more." In 2009, a high
fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...
statue of Park was placed on the fourth plinth for six months. After that period, a bronze statue was permanently installed in Waterloo Place. *
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
statue: Following the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher on 8 April 2013, Defence Secretary
Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...
suggested that her memorial statue be placed on the fourth plinth. Hammond's proposal was supported by Thatcher's colleague
Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1 ...
and by
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
leader
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
. The then Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
and London Mayor
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
were both said to welcome the proposal. Johnson proposed Parliament Square as a more appropriate site. There is already an existing statue of Thatcher in the nearby
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
. *
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
statue: It has also been suggested over several years that a permanent statue of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
might be erected on the plinth following her death, which would explain why there has been such a long delay in choosing a permanent monument. This proposal was discussed in the press in 2008. After Thatcher's death in 2013,
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
commented, "The understanding is that the fourth plinth is being reserved for Queen Elizabeth II." On Queen Elizabeth's death in 2022, MPs expressed their support for the idea of the fourth plinth being used for a statue of her. * Captain Sir Tom Moore statue: Following Moore's death on 2 February 2021, TV presenter
Nick Knowles Nicholas Simon Augustine Knowles (born 21 September 1962) is an English television presenter, writer and musician. He has hosted several television programmes including '' Real Rescues'' (2007–2013), '' Who Dares Wins'' (2007–2019), '' Break ...
suggested that a statue of Moore should be placed permanently on the fourth plinth, in recognition of Moore's
fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
efforts in the run up to his
100th birthday 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. *
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
statue: On 19 July 2023, following an apology to LGBT veterans from the UK Government,
Defence Secretary A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
Ben Wallace suggested Turing should be honoured for his code-breaking efforts during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, describing him as "probably the greatest war hero, in my book, of the Second World War,
hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...
achievements shortened the war, saved thousands of lives, helped defeat the Nazis. And his story is a sad story of a society and how it treated him."


Other uses

Commercial companies have used the plinth, usually without permission, as a platform for publicity stunts, including a model of
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
by
Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in London in 1835 by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. One of the early main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors, which appeared in advertising in 1843. In 1883, the restricted space of ...
during the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
. The London-based American harmonica player
Larry Adler Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player and film composer. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud ...
jokingly suggested erecting a statue of
Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...
, which would then be called the " Plinth of Whales". A
television ident Station identification (ident, network ID, channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, particularly in the ...
for the British TV station
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
shows a CGI Channel 4 logo on top of the fourth plinth.


Fourth Plinth Schools Awards

The annual Fourth Plinth Schools Award is the education project within the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Programme. The award uses the Fourth Plinth as an inspiration to engage primary and secondary schools in London to enter a competition that encourages creative thinking around past and present artworks displayed on the Fourth Plinth.


In popular culture

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel '' The Lost World'', the narrator speculates that
Professor Challenger George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an ...
"in his fancy, may ... see himself sometimes, gracing the vacant pedestal in Trafalgar Square".


References


External links

*
"Fourth Plinth"
Greater London Authority website
Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign
– proposal to erect a statue in honour of the Battle of Britain war hero Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Fourth Plinth, Trafalgar Square Public art in London 4th plinth, Trafalgar Square