Plans laid by a second architect, William Wilkins who designed the National Gallery , were never actioned. In , a third architect, Charles Barry, who rebuilt the Houses of Parliament, submitted plans that were accepted and construction resumed.
The Square then opened in A number of commemorative statues occupy the Square. First is Nelson's Column. Built between and , the Column stands 52m tall in the middle of the square, was designed by William Railton and carved out of Craigleith sandstone by the Bristol-born sculptor Edward Baily.
In , fountains were erected followed by the four bronze lions in The lions were designed by the painter and sculptor Sir Edwin Landseer and cast by the Italian-born French sculptor Baron Marochetti in his Kensington studio. Along the wall of the north end of the square in front of the National Gallery are three busts of admirals. One is of Lord Jelllicoe who fought in the Anglo-Egyptian war and which was erected in This was erected in He strove for accuracy but he did make on big mistake: the lion's poses.
In real life, lion's backs are convex, and not concave, when lying down. Thomas Milnes originally made four stone lions, but they were judged not impressive enough for the memorial to Nelson, and were in the end bought by Titus Salt, and sent to his village of Saltaire, where they remain today. In the south east corner of Trafalgar Square, a one-man police phone box was installed in , so officers could keep an eye on large gatherings and protests.
Due to a desire to reduce the space for public gatherings, apparently, two fountains were added in to a design by Charles Barry. These were supplied by two wells on Orange Street and in front of the National Gallery Ian Visits has more information on this. When the water flow became unreliable, it was decided to install new fountains.
The central fountains were given to the Canadian Government and are now in Ottawa and Regina see photos. In , the Imperial Measures — detailing the official measurements of inches, feet, yards, links, chains, perches and poles — were set into the north terrace wall and relocated in , more information below. The UK adopted metric units of measurement in so these standards are no longer required, but for a long time this was where people could come to check the accuracy of their rulers after the Standards of the Imperial Units of Measurement were destroyed by a great fire which wrecked the Houses of Parliament in A Standards Commission, chaired by Sir George Airy a mathematician and astronomer , created new standard units of measurement between and and decided to make three copies so the measurements would always be available.
While inches, feet and yards are familiar, links, chains, poles and perches are less commonly-known measurements today. Rods, poles and perches are different names for the same unit.
Medieval ploughing was done with oxen, up to four pairs at a time. The ploughman handled the plough. His boy controlled the oxen using a stick, which had to be long enough to reach all the oxen.
This was the rod, pole or perch. It was an obvious implement to measure the fields, such as four poles to the chain. In traffic was blocked off from the north side of the square making a wide pedestrianised space.
The central staircase was added plus a cafe, public toilets and disabled access lifts. The Imperial Standard Measures were moved behind the cafe seating and along the steps. What many people know is that Charing Cross is the spot from where all distances to London are calculated.
What many people don't know is how it got its name. The cortege rested in 12 locations on the way and the last stop was at the village of Charing.
An Eleanor Cross was erected at each stopping place, including one at this location, but this cross was destroyed during the English Civil War The Victorians built a replacement cross outside Charing Cross Station in the s so the one you can see today is a copy and it's in the wrong place.
None of this centimetres and metres business, the imperial system relies on measurements including inches, links and feet. In their place, they made three new sets of measurements which they hope match the originals. However, the current Neoclassical building dates from the early 18th century.
In fact, the history of the site can be traced back even further than the squabbling churches of the s. Whenever it began, today it is a beautiful church that is a must visit for those who love beautiful architecture.
The building is Grade I listed, and inspired many American churches. They even hold frequent ish jazz concerts and free lunchtime concerts that are always well worth popping into! One of my favourite places to experience the warm and fuzzies that come with Christmas in London is at the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree. In late November each year, the tree is cut in Norway and then sent via boat to the English capital.
Once it arrives, it is decorated, Norwegian-style, before it is revealed to the public in all its glory in early December. It remains on show until around 6 January. As well as serving as a token of cross-country friendship, the tree is also the site of many beautiful carol performances.
Most funds raised by these performances go to supporting various charitable works. It would be easy to start the history of Trafalgar Square with the Battle of Trafalgar — however that would be to miss out some of the most interesting history of the square.
In fact, the history of Trafalgar Square reads much like an exhibit from the British National Museum. In the s, building works revealed the skeletons of a number of great beasts under the square, including cave lions, rhinos and hippos. It might seem hard to imagine the famous London square being stomped on by the hooves of giant mammals, but that was the case several millennia ago. In around , the idea for a large public square began to take shape.
Plans were drawn up, and arguments were had over the name for the square. Eventually, it was decided that the square would be named after the Battle of Trafalgar, an epic naval battle where the British, under the command of Lord Nelson, defeated the French and the Spanish in the Napoleonic Wars.
Despite this — or maybe because of it — he has gone down as an almost mythical war hero. Over the years, Trafalgar Square has become the epicentre of many protests, a kind of living art gallery, and above all, a space for visitors and Londoners to enjoy. Luckily, they did not succeed, and it continues to be one of the most enduring symbols of London. The nearest tube station to Trafalgar Square is Charing Cross, which is just a few minutes walk from the heart of the square.
Taking a walking tour around Trafalgar Square is a great way to find out more about the history and significance of this London landmark.
Love This? Save and Share on Pinterest. Your post is what made me want to visit Trafalgar Square. And I did, it was great. Before this my family and I took in the scenery took pictures in front of the statues and the fountains.
It was so a fair amount of people there.
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