Read More: Free Museums in London. These four staunch stone beasts surround the column, dwarfing anyone who stands near them. The lions were sculpted by Edwin Landseer — who until he accepted the commission had never sculpted a thing in his life no pressure then. It took Landseer ten years to craft the massive lions. He carefully studied lions in the zoo, as he had mostly painted dogs and horses during his career — he even had a dead lion sent to his studios so he could get a true to life portrayal.
Guess that explains why they have a slightly odd look about them. In the mids, it was decided that Trafalgar Square was looking a little too much like a concrete jungle — not to mention reflecting heat off the asphalt.
The solution? The plan was also popular with the Government, who saw it as a way to decrease the likelihood of any pesky riots. As such, two new fountains were designed and added to the square in The design, however, was pretty bland. As such, new features including whimsical mermaids frolicking in the fountain were added, creating the fountains we know and love today.
Clearly, sculptors have left quite the mark on Trafalgar Square over the years. As well as the lions and column, there are some other notable Trafalgar Square statues. Around the square, there are four plinths for sculptures. It was a gift to the city of London from the state of Virginia in the USA, which is why today you will find him confidently perched outside of the National Gallery.
The fourth plinth sits on the northwestern edge of Trafalgar Square. Originally, it was supposed to be the site of a statue of King William IV.
Fittingly for a project depicting a man with his own fair share of money woes, financial troubles put the kibosh on the project. The plinth remained empty for more than years. But in , a solution was found.
The plinth would serve as a showpiece for a changing display of contemporary art. Various pieces have had their time in the limelight, from a statue of the HMS Victory to an eclectic living artwork that saw more than 2, artists contribute. Until recently, the statue is a recreation of a year-old statue of the deity Amassu, which was destroyed by ISIS in Was it so that Dr Who could pop into London for a spot of theatre and art whenever he pleased?
Unfortunately not. The micro-station was built in so that the Met police could keep a watchful eye on demonstrators who had begun to take to Trafalgar Square.
It was originally a temporary thing, but they soon decided to make this station more permanent and installed lighting inside. The narrow windows all around the building were meant to give panoramic views of any unlawful activity in the area and the light on top would flash, alerting nearby officers that back up was very much needed. Not only does the building offer a great view out of Trafalgar Square, but it was also big enough to house a police officer and a wretched crook!
Technically it was a lookout post, not a police station those are officially designated — but why let a technicality spoil your fun? The towering centrepiece of Trafalgar Square, it stands ft 3 in He worried that it would distract attention from his Gallery building. Unfortunately for him, he took over after the foundations had already been laid, so he was stuck with it.
Construction started in July , and the main tower was completed by the end of The column is built in the Corinthian order, a style of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is characterised by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals, which are decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls.
The column is constructed out of Dartmoor granite and weighs around 2, tonnes. It was originally meant to be built entirely out of sandstone, but the plan was changed shortly before construction started. They were not installed until , and the metal came from French guns which had been captured and melted down. When the column was measured in , during renovation works, it was discovered that the monument is 14 ft 6 in 4.
However, it was nearly much taller, as the original proposal was for a ft 62 m column, however, construction plans were scaled back due to concerns over stability and cost. Designed by the painter Sir Edwin Landseer based on an actual, if a very dead lion, and cast by Baron Marochetti at his studio in Kensington, they were unveiled in , a full decade after they were commissioned.
The lions are also not the ones originally planned. The commission to design them went to another artist, Thomas Milnes, but his designs were felt to be unfitting for the site, so Landseer was given the second commission to redo the work.
None of the lions are individually named, but collectively they are often called the Landseer Lions. Although cast in bronze, the original plans had called for stone or granite. The fountains were installed after the Square was originally laid out, for two very different reasons. In part, it was to reduce the effects of reflected heat from the large expanse of paved surface, but the government was rather keen on reducing the space available for protests to gather in the Square.
The fountain centrepieces are not the originals though. The originals were removed in the late s, and ended up in Ottawa, Canada. Originally the fountains were fed by a couple of wells underneath Trafalgar Square, but these were replaced by modern pumps, and a more recent upgrade can send a jet of water 24 metres into the sky.
Although they fell out of use for many years, they were restored back to working order in , but seem to be broken again in Just before WW1, a temporary police hut was installed in the Square itself, but it was the General Strike of and the agitation of strikers protesting in the Square that encouraged the police to see a permanent station in the square.
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. The monument at this location now is a statue of Charles I on a horse. The statue is by Frenchman Hubert le Sueur who knew the King. It was commissioned by Richard Weston, later first Earl of Portland, in the early s.
The statue stood in the grounds of Weston's Surrey mansion but after the execution of Charles I in , Parliament ordered its destruction. One story says it was given to John Rivett, a brazier, who assured everyone it had been destroyed and even made a tidy profit selling commemorative knives and forks, apparently, made from the melted down statue of the dead king. When Charles II came onto the throne in and asked Rivett about the statue it was revealed it had been hidden in his garden all the time.
Apparently, there was a fish shop on this now prestigious site, but it was removed so the Charles I statue could face down Whitehall. This was also the site of the scaffolding on which the men who beheaded the king were then executed.
There was a pillory here too for public abuse of n'er do wells see pic. The statue was removed briefly for safekeeping during the Second World War, and stored in Leighton Buzzard. Before its return the statue had a few repairs, including adding a replacement sword and the badge of the Order of the Garter.
The sword had been stolen when Queen Victoria opened the Royal Exchange in In the centre of the square was a bronze statue of General Charles Gordon with his cane under his arm, a bible in his hand and his foot on the broken barrel of a gun. The sculpture is by Hamo Thornycroft and was placed between the fountains in It was removed in and can now be seen on the Victoria Embankment.
A tribute to Edward Jenner , the man who discovered vaccination, was in the south west corner of the square, next to Napier. The sculpture by William Calder Marshall was placed in the square in but, after his biggest advocate Prince Albert died in , the statue was moved to Kensington Gardens in On the east and west sides of Trafalgar Square are public drinking fountains installed in by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association to commemorate the organisation's centenary.
These were designed by Stephen Dykes Bower who was the official surveyor of the fabric for Westminster Abbey in and was also involved in the restoration of St Martin-in-the-Fields after war damage. The best things to do in London. The must-read London articles. The coolest London events from our partners. By Londonist Last edited 62 months ago. Trafalgar Square by Javier Ayala via the Londonist flickrpool. Photo by Stewart Marsden via the Londonist flickrpool.
0コメント