Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is one of Britain's most important London landmarks and a focus for national demonstration and celebration. The square is named after Spanish Cape Trafalgar, where in 1805 British forces, led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeated a combined French and Spanish Fleet, in the most significant naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

J. M. W. Turner painted this Trafalgar scene in 1822

Trafalgar Square used to be famous for its pigeons and feeding the pigeons was a popular activity for tourists. It was estimated that the pigeon population grew to a staggering 30,000 and in 2000, sales of bird seed was banned. In September 2007, a law was passed banning the feeding of birds in the square, and as a result, there are very few birds left.

John Nash first designed the layout of the Square in a Neo-classical style during the 1820s, but it was not until the 1840s that its focal point, Nelson’s Column was added. Admiral Nelson was one of Britain's best-loved heroes, after winning four notable naval battles, during which he lost an arm and one eye. The Battle of Trafalgar was his most famous, but also his last. The French and Spanish fleet lost 22 of their 33 ships during the Battle, whilst the British lost none, and Nelson died on the deck of H.M.S. Victory, leading his fleet.

Admiral Horatio Nelson

The total height of the granite column plus statue is 182-feet (55-metres), which is exactly the same height as the main mast on H.M.S. Victory.

When Nelson’s Column was completed in 1843 and before the statue of the Admiral was placed at the top, a few select dignitaries of the day proceeded to have dinner on the top of the column, to celebrate its completion.

The statue of King George IV

Each year in December, the people of Norway send a gift of an enormous Christmas tree to Britain, which is erected in Trafalgar Square. This is in thanks for Britain's part in their liberation during WW2.

At the south end of the square you will find a statue of King Charles I on horseback. In 1675, this statue replaced the original site of the Charing Cross, erected by King Edward I in 1290. The king was so fond of his wife, Eleanor, that when she died, he marked the route of the funeral procession from Lincoln to her final resting-place at Westminster, with 12 crosses - each cross marking the spot where her coffin rested overnight. The final cross remained on this spot, until its removal during the English Civil War. 200 years later, a replica cross was placed in the forecourt at Charing Cross Station, which can still be seen today. In the 19th Century, it was decided to use this exact spot in Trafalgar Square as the centre of London and the place from which all 'distances from London' are measured.

The statue of King Charles I

In 1925 a Scottish trickster named Arthur Ferguson, "sold" Nelson’s Column to an unsuspecting American tourist for £6,000, claiming it was for sale to pay off Britain's war loan from the United States. He also sold Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.