Lander's Monument

Lander’s Monument stands on Lemon Street in Truro, Cornwall’s county town. It honours Richard Lander, a local explorer born and educated in the town. The memorial is a tall Doric column made of grey granite. At the top sits a statue of Lander by sculptor Neville Northey Burnard. The plinth is carved from ashlar and the site was donated by Sir Charles Lemon. A Bowden of Helston built the column, completed in 1835. Lander explored West Africa with Hugh Clapperton and later traced the Niger River with his brother John. Their journey showed Europeans that the Niger flows into the Atlantic. The Royal Geographical Society awarded Lander its gold medal for this work. His journals were published to wide acclaim and translated into many languages. He died in 1834 from an infected gunshot wound on another expedition. Visitors see a sturdy grey granite column topped by a statue. The square plinth sits on a raised base on Lemon Street. The monument fell in 1836 but was repaired the following year. Nearby are shops and Georgian terraces. The setting is quiet yet central, a fitting tribute to a Cornish explorer.