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The Nelson Memorial, Swarland is a white freestone 
There are three inscriptions on the monument; from top to bottom:
* England expects every man to do his duty
*Victory 21 October 1805 (''the date referring to the Battle of Trafalgar'')
*Not to Commemorate the Public Virtues and Heroic Achievements of Nelson, which is the duty of England; But to the Memory of Private Friendship, this erection is dedicated by Alexander Davison, Swarland Hall
The erection of the memorial arguably represented the zenith of Davison's social standing; he was imprisoned for a year for fraud in 1808, and never recovered his position.
In contemporary times, the memorial has become obscure since the course of the road changed when the A1 passing Swarland was converted to a dual carriageway. Davison's obelisk lies on the old A1, used only by local traffic, hidden from the main road by a stand of trees.
Carved onto the face of the obelisk are two
Lord Nelson: Hero and...Cad!
Article in the Smithsonian Magazine, by Michael Ryan, touching on the Nelson - Davison relationship, in the context of Nelson's adulterous affair with Emma Hamilton (
Maritime Monument listing
for M4322, the Obelisk at Swarland. {{coord, 55.3201, N, 1.7267, W, type:landmark, display=title Alnwick Monuments and memorials in Northumberland Obelisks in England Monuments and memorials to Horatio Nelson Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland
The Nelson Memorial, Swarland is a white freestone obelisk
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
at Swarland in north Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Erected in 1807, two years after the death of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, victor of the Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
, it was placed by his friend and sometime agent, Alexander Davison, who owned an estate centred on the now demolished Swarland Hall. It is a Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
monument.
This relatively obscure memorial stands by the old A1 (the great road between Morpeth and Alnwick
Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116.
The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
, according to an 1868 gazetteer).
Davison made his fortune in the late 18th century after travelling to Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, where he met and became a friend of the 24-year-old Nelson, who was commanding HMS ''Albemarle'', which was docked at Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
during the War of American Independence. Later in life, Nelson engaged Davison as an agent to represent him at naval tribunals dealing with the distribution of the spoils of battle.
The obelisk is not the only Nelson memorial at Swarland. A line of trees on the estate represents the Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
delta, whilst other groups of trees represent the positions of French and British ships engaged in the Battle of the Nile.
There are three inscriptions on the monument; from top to bottom:
* England expects every man to do his duty
*Victory 21 October 1805 (''the date referring to the Battle of Trafalgar'')
*Not to Commemorate the Public Virtues and Heroic Achievements of Nelson, which is the duty of England; But to the Memory of Private Friendship, this erection is dedicated by Alexander Davison, Swarland Hall
The erection of the memorial arguably represented the zenith of Davison's social standing; he was imprisoned for a year for fraud in 1808, and never recovered his position.
In contemporary times, the memorial has become obscure since the course of the road changed when the A1 passing Swarland was converted to a dual carriageway. Davison's obelisk lies on the old A1, used only by local traffic, hidden from the main road by a stand of trees.
Carved onto the face of the obelisk are two Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
bench marks, and on the south side is Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
flush bracket number 1973. Maps indicate the height of the flush bracket as 117 metres above sea level. The stonemason's name is carved on the top of the plinth on the north side.
The monument and site was restored by the local authorities, and a plaque erected, in about 2003.
References
External links
Lord Nelson: Hero and...Cad!
Article in the Smithsonian Magazine, by Michael Ryan, touching on the Nelson - Davison relationship, in the context of Nelson's adulterous affair with Emma Hamilton (
PDF
Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...
)Maritime Monument listing
for M4322, the Obelisk at Swarland. {{coord, 55.3201, N, 1.7267, W, type:landmark, display=title Alnwick Monuments and memorials in Northumberland Obelisks in England Monuments and memorials to Horatio Nelson Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland