Immediately to the north of Charing Cross lies Trafalgar Square, one of London's most famous public spaces.[6] Conceived as part of John Nash's urban improvements, the square was initially developed from the 1820s onwards.[7] Its centrepiece, Nelson's Column, was constructed in 1839–1842. Charles Barry's 1840 redesign of the square provided plinths for equestrian monuments to George IV and William IV, but sufficient funds were never raised for the latter statue.[8] Most of the memorials since added have had a military or naval flavour, an exception being the statue of the physician Edward Jenner, erected in 1858 but moved to Kensington Gardens only four years later. Another work which originally stood on the square is Hamo Thornycroft's statue of General Gordon; this was removed during World War II and reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment in 1953.
Since 1999 the formerly empty fourth plinth on Trafalgar Square has become London's most prominent showcase for temporary new sculpture.[9]
The earliest Renaissance-style equestrian statue in England. Originally commissioned in 1630 by Charles I's Lord High Treasurer, Lord Richard Weston, for his estate in Roehampton. Erected on the site of the Charing Cross in 1674–1675, when it was set on its current pedestal.[10] The reliefs were carved by Joshua Marshall, Master Mason to Charles II.[11]
A replica of the original Eleanor cross at Charing, with some details inspired by the Oxford Martyrs' Memorial. It stands some distance away from the original location of the Charing Cross.[12]
The murals on the Northern line platforms depict the construction of the medieval Charing Cross; they are reproduced from woodcuts by Gentleman at twenty times their original size.[13] The murals for the Jubilee and Bakerloo lines feature photographs of Nelson's Column and paintings in the National Gallery.[14]
Unveiled 17 March 1920 by Queen Alexandra. The earliest World War I memorial project in England; plans for it began soon after Cavell's death in 1915. The inscription FOR KING AND COUNTRY was felt to be a travesty of Cavell's beliefs; in 1924 another was added with her words, PATRIOTISM IS NOT ENOUGH/ I MUST HAVE NO HATRED OR/ BITTERNESS FOR ANYONE.[17]
The architectural sculpture of the National Portrait Gallery, on St Martin's Place and Irving Street, is the work of the sculptor Frederick C. Thomas.[18] The three busts over the original main entrance are of the principal supporters of the foundation of the gallery,[19] and the remaining busts are of other biographical writers, historians and portraitists.[18] The architect Ewan Christian's original design for the gallery included a frieze of figures from British history on the top storey, but this was abandoned to save money.[20]
Originally intended to be the crowning feature of Marble Arch, the decorative scheme of which was cut back after George IV's death. The statue still had no home after Chantrey's death in 1843 and in December of that year it was erected in the newly laid-out Trafalgar Square.[31]
Nelson is shown without an eyepatch, but his portrayal in this statue is not idealised by the standards of the time. The figure is given stability by the coil of rope behind. Portland stone was chosen over bronze as the statue "would [then] not be resorted to as plunder in revolutions".[32]
Nelson is depicted immediately after receiving his mortal wound; Captain Hardy turns back towards him whilst sailors to the left take aim at the marksman who dealt the fatal blow. Inscribed at the bottom ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY.[33]
Nelson has been taken below deck after being wounded in the head during the attack on the French fleet in Abu Qir Bay. Captain Edward Berry stands by his side.[34]
Nelson, on board his flagship HMS Elephant, applies his seal to an ultimatum directed at the Crown Prince of Denmark. The city of Copenhagen is visible in the background.[35]
Nelson is on board a Spanish ship, the San Nicolas. A Spanish officer kneels in front of Nelson, surrendering the swords of his fellow officers. Watson died in 1847 before he could complete the work.[36]
Unveiled 26 November 1856. Napier holds a scroll out in his right hand, a gesture which symbolises the giving of government to Sindh. The statue was much criticised, The Art Journal calling it "perhaps the worst piece of sculpture in England".[37]
Unveiled 10 April 1861. The pedestal is inscribed at the front with a quotation from one of Havelock's pre-battle speeches, and to the rear with a list of British and Indian regiments commanded by him during the Indian Mutiny. This was the first statue ever to be modelled from a photograph.[38]
The Jellicoe and Beatty memorials were unveiled on 21 October 1948 (Trafalgar Day) by the Duke of Gloucester. Each memorial consists of a fountain (adapted from those designed by Charles Barry and installed in 1845) with two bronze sculptural groups and, up against the north wall of the square, a bust of the admiral in question.[40]
For both memorial fountains Lutyens retained Barry's cusped quatrefoil-shaped basins and added the vase-shaped central fountains. In the Jellicoe fountain, one of the bronze groups comprises a mermaid with two merchildren and dolphins perched on a shell; the other has a triton with a merchild and dolphins on a shell.[40]
During the 2003 refurbishment of the square the busts were moved to the eastern side of the new steps; they previously faced their associated fountains.[40] A square plaque near the centre of the square marks the dedication of the fountains and busts:
THESE FOUNTAINS AND/ THE BUSTS AGAINST THE/ NORTH WALL OF THE/ SQUARE WERE ERECTED/ BY PARLIAMENT TO THE/ MEMORY OF THE ADMIRALS OF/ THE FLEET EARL JELLICOE/ AND EARL BEATTY TO THE/ END THAT THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS/ SERVICES TO THE STATE/ MIGHT NEVER BE FORGOTTEN[41]
One bronze sculptural group consists of a mermaid riding on a dolphin and holding smaller dolphins under her arms, with a shoal of small sharks in the rear; the other has an equivalent grouping with a triton in place of the mermaid.[40]
The architectural sculpture of the National Gallery was originally intended for John Nash's Marble Arch. Construction of the latter was begun in 1827 but ceased after the death of George IV in 1830.[46]
Conceived as a figure of Britannia brandishing a trident and a shield bearing the head of Nelson. When Flaxman died in 1826 the work was continued by Baily; he also recarved the shield and replaced the trident with a spear.[48]
This group previously represented Europe and Asia Exalting Wellington. The relief of the Duke of Wellington's head which originally occupied the central shield now hangs inside the National Gallery's offices.[46]
Unveiled 30 June 1921. A bronze cast of Houdon's 1796 marble statue for the Virginia State Capitol. The state of Virginia offered the cast to London in 1914 to mark the centenary of the Treaty of Ghent, and thus of Anglo-American peace.[50]
A truncated fluted column with lion's-head fountains on two sides, their basins now filled in. Inscribed IN MEMORY OF JOHN LAW BAKER/ FORMERLY OF THE MADRAS ARMY/ BORN 1789—DIED 1886.[52]
A basic granite drinking fountain set into the churchyard wall of St Martin's, where Humphry was vicar from 1815 until his death in 1886. Restored with a replica bronze lion mash spout in about 1989, but this is no longer visible on the memorial.[53]
Unveiled 30 November 1998. A bronze sculpture of Wilde's head and hand (complete with cigarette) emerges from a granite, coffin-shaped plinth. Inscribed with a quotation from Lady Windermere's Fan (1892): We are all/ in the gutter/ but some of us/ are looking at/ the stars.[55]
A relief of a newborn baby with the umbilical cord still uncut, seemingly emerging from a block of Portland stone. The inscription running around the sides reads IN THE BEGINNING/ WAS THE WORD—AND THE/ WORD BECAME FLESH/ AND LIVED AMONG US/ St John 1:1,14.[56]
The balustrade of a light well is inscribed with a poem by Andrew Motion in stainless steel letters, individually cast.[57] Natalie Skilbeck was a traveller on her gap year killed in a road accident in Mauritius in 2004.[58]
^"Public art in London". Museum of London blog. Museum of London. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
Blackwood, John (1989). London's Immortals: The Complete Outdoor Commemorative Statues. London and Oxford: Savoy Press. ISBN978-0951429600.
Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003). London 6: Westminster. The Buildings of England. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-09595-1.
Conlin, Jonathan (2006). The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery. London: Pallas Athene. ISBN978-1-84368-018-5.
Crookham, Alan (2009). The National Gallery. An Illustrated History. London: National Gallery Company. ISBN9-781-85709-463-3.
Hulme, Graham; Buchanan, Brian; Powell, Kenneth (2000). The National Portrait Gallery: An Architectural History. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications. ISBN9781855142930.
Mace, Rodney (2005). Trafalgar Square: Emblem of Empire. London: Lawrence and Wishart. ISBN1-905007-11-6.
Ovenden, Mark (2013). London Underground by Design. London: Penguin. ISBN978-1846144172.
Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011). Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1. Public Sculpture of Britain. Vol. 14. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN978-1-84631-691-3.
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