Nelson Monument

The Nelson Monument stands in Exchange Flags, a public square in Liverpool’s Metropolitan Borough. It was designed by Matthew Cotes Wyatt and sculpted by Richard Westmacott, and unveiled in 1813. The monument honours Admiral Horatio Nelson after his victory at Trafalgar. A public fund raised £8,930, including £750 from Lloyd’s underwriters and £500 from the West India Association. In 1866 it was moved to its present site to allow expansion of the Exchange Buildings. A ventilation shaft beneath the monument once served a wartime bunker. The structure rises 29 feet and features a bronze statue on a marble and granite base. Four seated prisoners represent Nelson’s victories at Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar. Bronze bas-reliefs show other naval actions. The top group shows Nelson standing on a cannon, receiving the last of four crowns from Victory. Britannia holds a laurel wreath behind him, while Death reaches out to his side. An inscription reads ‘England expects every man to do his duty’. Visitors find the monument surrounded by Exchange Flags and the Town Hall. The bronze figures are arranged in a pyramidal form, with captured flags and an anchor at the base. The marble pedestal is decorated with swags of laurel and chains held by lions’ heads. The Grade II* listed building is the first public sculpture erected in Liverpool. It remains a prominent landmark in the city centre.