There are always late deals to London but what should you see when you get here? One of the places every wants to visit is Trafalgar Square but do you know anything about that tall column and what else is there?
Nelson’s Column
This is the most obvious attraction at Trafalgar Square but Nelson’s Column wasn’t here when the square was first built. Trafalgar Square is a John Nash design which he planned in the 1820s and was built throughout the 1830s. The square was created as a focus point for public political demonstrations as it was deemed better to have a place for these than not. Look in the southeast corner for the world’s smallest police box where police could discreetly keep an eye on protesters!
Nelson’s Column was started in 1840 and completed in 1843 to commemorate one of Britain’s best loved naval heroes: Admiral Horatio Nelson. This one-armed and one-eyed admiral died in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 aboard HMS Victory, where he defeated Napoleon and the French and Spanish fleets.
When the column was refurbished in 2006 it was laser measured to get a more accurate height and it was discovered it was actually only 169 feet and not 185 feet high. It is still enormous and the statue is actually more than triple life-size.
At the column base there are four bronze panels depicting four great victories for Admiral Nelson. The four cast bronze lions were a later addition and were installed in 1868. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was the sculptor and it is reported he visited lions at the Tower of London before all of the animals moved to London Zoo, the world’s first scientific zoo.
Go to the Trafalgar Hotel on the south of the square and head up to their rooftop Vista bar for a view in line with Nelson at the top of his column. Don’t blush, but the angle of his hand looks like he is…um…pleased to see you!
National Gallery
The entire north side of Trafalgar Square has the magnificent National Gallery which started to bring great art to the masses so has a free admission policy that has continued since it opened in 1824. Its central London location was to encourage the city’s poor to enjoy the arts and to allow them to see some of the best art in the world and prove it should not be reserved for the rich. It’s a beautiful neoclassical building and houses one of the finest collections of Western European paintings in the world from around 1250 onwards.
Within the square there are four corner plinths and while three have permanent statues, the Fourth Plinth was supposed to receive an equestrian statue designed by Sir Charles Barry but funds ran out and it remained empty for 150 years. In 1998 the first temporary display arrived when the RSA commissioned three contemporary sculptures by Mark Wallinger, Bill Woodrow and Rachel Whiteread. The temporary commissions have now become popular and the Mayor of London’s office organises future displays with public votes.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
On the northeast of Trafalgar Square you can see this church which is the official parish church for Buckingham Palace. Head underneath for the great Crypt Café and the London Brass Rubbing Centre.
Laura Porter writes the About.com London Travel site and is a regular contributor to the VisitBritain Super Blog. Follow her on Twitter at @AboutLondon.
