TRAFALGAR

SQUARE

See and die...

Something interesting
at the beginning

The square was

originally called
Charing. Later it
became known as
Charing Cross, after a
memorial cross on the
square. The nearby
underground station
(the 'tube') is still
named Charing Cross
 History
From the thirteenth century on the area was the site of the King's Royal
Hawks and later the Royal Mews. In 1812 the Prince Regent - who would
later become King George IV - asked architect John Nash to redevelop the
area. After much delay work finally started in 1830. Nash had the terrain
cleared but he died before his plans were realized and works were halted.
The completion of the National Gallery in 1838 on the north side of the
square reignited interest in its redevelopment. A new design by architect
Charles Barry (best known for his Houses of Parliament), which
consisted of two levels separated by a monumental flight of stairs was
approved and construction started in 1840. Five years later the square was
finally completed.
 Nelson’s column
The name of the square commemorates the victory of Admiral Horatio
Lord Nelson over the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of
October 1805. Initially there were no plans for a statue in honor of the
admiral. Instead, a statue of King William IV was planned. Eventually, in
1838, it was decided that Trafalgar Square was the ideal place for a
monument to Britain's most famous admiral and a competition was
organized to select a design for the 'Nelson Testimonial'. The winner of the
competition was William Railton, who proposed a 170ft / 52 meter tall
Corinthian column and statue. The column was built between 1841 and
1843. On top of the column stands an 18ft (5.5 meter) tall statue of Lord
Nelson, created by Edward Hodges. At the base of the column are four
huge lions modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer. They were added later, in
1868.
 Statues
LANDSEER’S LIONS King George IV
The statue of George IV in Trafalgar Square, London, is a bronze equestrian statue by
Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey. It depicts the King dressed in ancient Roman attire and
According to The Telegraph, legend states that the riding bareback. The sculpture was originally designed to sit on top of the Marble Arch

lions of Trafalgar Square will come to life if Big at the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was placed in its current location following
the King's death.
Ben chimes 13 times…Visitors approaching Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey originally designed the statue to stand on top of
Trafalgar Square will find it hard to miss the four Marble Arch in its original position as the entrance to Buckingham Palace,following
architecture work by John Nash. Edward Bloretook over the work, and his redesign to
impressive bronze lions that guard the 169 ft. reduce costs removed the Chantrey statue. Chantrey's work was funded by George IV
column holding the statue of Admiral Nelson high himself, rather than by public subscription.] The statue was cast in 1828.

above the center of the city. Thousands of tourists George IV died in 1830, and the statue was placed on an empty plinth in
scale up onto the colossal sculptures to sit on the Trafalgar Square in December 1843, which was expected to be on a temporary basis,

lion’s backs and pose for photos. The lions were however it has remained there ever since. It was unveiled to little ceremony, with
The Times describing it as "somewhat suddenly erected".It was the first statue erected
part of the original plans for the memorial that on one of the pedestals, which were installed three years earlier with architect

was built to commemorate Nelson’s 1805 defeat of Charles Barry expecting them to be filled by groups of statues. An inscription was
added towards the end of the 19th century as the public were no longer aware of whom
Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. The lions were it was a statue.
designed by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, a popular
Journalist Janice Turner questioned the need for a George IV statue in Trafalgar Square
English painter and sculptor known for his in 2005, which was rebutted by Lord Baker of Dorking who argued that the monarch still
depictions of animals. Landseer’s Lions have been deserved the statue due to his town planning legacy which remained in London. In
2012, milliner Stephen Jones created a crown to add to the statue, both for George IV
peacefully guarding Nelson’s Column since their and for his horse. It was part of the "Hatwalk" art project in conjunction with the
installation in 1867. Mayor of London, which saw 21 millerners create new hats for various famous statues
around London.
 James Napier King Charles I
The equestrian statue of Charles I in Charing Cross,
The statue of Sir Charles James Napier was London, is a work by the French sculptor
put in the southwest corner of the Trafalgar Hubert Le Sueur, probably cast in 1633. The first
Square in 1855 in honour of this British Renaissance-style equestrian statue in England, it was
general. It was designed by George Cannon commissioned by Charles's Lord High Treasurer
Adams and paid for by public. Sir Charles Richard Weston for the garden of his country house in
Roehampton, Surrey (now in South London).
James Napier fought in the Peninsula War Following the English Civil War the statue was sold to
against Napoleon and then went to India a metalsmith to be broken down, but he hid it until the
where he was knighted after winning major Restoration. It was installed in its current, far more
battles near Hyderabad. Nowadays, the prominent location in the centre of London in 1675,
future of the statue (together with the statue and the elaborately carved plinth dates from that time.
The new site was where the most elaborate of the
of Major-General Sir Henry Havelock in the Eleanor crosses erected by Edward I had stood until it
southeast corner of the Trafalgar Square) is was destroyed during the Commonwealth.
uncertain. The Mayor of London, Ken The statue shows Charles I of England on horseback,
Livingstone, thinks that these two statuses with the king wearing a demi-suit of armour but
should be replaced with figures ordinary without a helmet. Across the chest is a scarf tied into a
bow on the right shoulder. The king is holding a baton
Londoners and other people would know. in his right hand, and the reins of the horse in his left.
 Fountains
The first fountains at Trafalgar Square were installed as
part of its development in the nineteenth century. They
were replaced by
the two current fountains, created in 1939 as a
memorial to David Beatty and John Rushworth
Jellicoe, admirals of the Royal Navy. The fountains
were designed by architect Edwin Lutyens and are
decorated with sculpture of dolphins, mermaids and
small sharks.
National Gallery
On the north side the neoclassical National Gallery,
built between 1834 and 1838, overlooks Trafalgar
Square from its elevated position.
The museum is home to an impressive collection
of paintings, spanning six centuries. You can
admire works from some of the world's most
famous painters, including Rubens, Vermeer, van
Gogh, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
Renoir and Claude Monet.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields

At the north-east corner is the

St. Martin-in-the-Fields parish church. It is
one of the most famous churches in London,
partly thanks to its prominent location at
one of the busiest areas in the city.

The church, with a large white steeple

neoclassical portico, was built in 1721 by
James Gibbs and was used as a model for
many churches, particularly in the United
States. It is the fourth church at this site;
the first was built in the thirteenth century.
At the time this area was still rural, hence
its nam
 Blue Rooster
Now this might ruffle a few feathers: A giant blue rooster
has been unveiled next to the somber military
monuments in London’s Trafalgar Square. German
artist Katharina Fritsch’s 15-foot ultramarine bird, titled
Hahn/Cock, is intended as a playful counterpoint to the
statues of martial heroes in the square. Both ultramarine
blue and the rooster are symbols of France, whose defeat
by Britain at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 gave the
square its name. “It’s a nice humorous side-effect to
have something French in a place that celebrates victory
over Napoleon,” Fritsch told The Guardian newspaper.
 THANKS
FOR
WATCHING

Work created by the student 11"A" class Nikita Natalia