The Nelson Monument is a monument to Admiral

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

, in Exchange Flags,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. It was designed by

Matthew Cotes Wyatt Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was an English 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 archit ...

and sculpted by Richard Westmacott. It stands to the north of the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and was unveiled in 1813.

History

In 1805,

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

resolved to commemorate Nelson's victory at 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 ...

by erecting a monument and voted to pay £1,000 towards its design and construction. A public subscription fund was launched and within two months a total of £8,930 () had been reached; this included £750 from the underwriters at Lloyd's and £500 from the West India Association. It was agreed that the monument should be located in a prominent site near the Exchange. A competition for its design was arranged, and this was won by Matthew Cotes Wyatt, son of

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

, the contract being signed in 1809. Matthew Wyatt was relatively inexperienced, and was assisted by Richard Westmacott. The first stone was laid on 15 July 1812, and the monument was unveiled on 21 October 1813, the eighth anniversary of Nelson's death. In 1866 the monument was moved to its present site in Exchange Flags to allow for an extension to the Exchange Buildings, and the

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

stone base was replaced by one in

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. As part of the construction of a bunker under Exchange Flags to house Western Approaches Command, a ventilation shaft was constructed under the monument, allowing airflow into the bunker below. For the 2023 Eurovision song contest celebrations, the monument was surrounded by 2,500 sandbags as part of an art installation called 'Protect the Beats'. This was to reflect statues in Ukraine which were covered up to protect them from damage during the Russian invasion.

Description

The monument consists of a bronze statue on a stone base. Its overall height is , and the circumference of the base is . The base consists of a drum-shaped

pedestal 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 Westmorland

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

high, standing on a granite basement high. Seated around the pedestal are four statues depicting manacled prisoners sitting in poses of sadness; they represent Nelson's major victories, the battles of Cape St Vincent, the Nile,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and Trafalgar. Set into the drum between the statues are four bronze

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s depicting other naval actions in which Nelson was involved. Encircling the pedestal above the statues are swags of laurel hanging from behind lions' heads. Attached to rings in the lions' mouths are chains that descend to manacle the prisoners. At the top of the pedestal is a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

with an inscription in metal letters reading ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY . On top of the pedestal is a bronze group of figures high, each figure being in height, and forming a roughly pyramidal structure. There are five figures surrounded by the drapes and poles of captured flags, with an anchor and a rope on the ground. An idealised nude representation of Nelson, his amputated right arm covered by part of a flag, stands with one foot on a cannon and the other on an enemy's corpse, holding upright a sword on which ''

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

'' is placing the last of four crowns. To the right of Nelson is the figure of ''

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

'' reaching out to touch him. On the left of Nelson is a British seaman striding forward. Behind Nelson is the figure of ''

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

'' holding a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

and Nelson's decorations. The monument was the first item of public sculpture to be erected in Liverpool, and is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building 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, Hi ...

. Grade II* is the middle of the three grades of designation for listed buildings and is applied to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".

Notes and references

Notes Citations

External links

English Heritage ViewfinderLiverpool MuseumsFlickr
slideshow {{Coord, 53.4076, -2.9920, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB Sculptures by Richard Westmacott Grade II* listed buildings in Liverpool Monuments and memorials to Horatio Nelson Monuments and memorials in Liverpool Buildings and structures completed in 1813 Statues in England Bronze sculptures in England Outdoor sculptures in Liverpool Grade II* listed monuments and memorials

History

Description

See also

Notes and references

External links