In 1805, Liverpool City Council resolved to commemorate
Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar by erecting a monument and voted to
pay £1,000 towards its design and construction.
In Exchange Flags stands The Nelson Monument, Liverpool's
first important piece of public sculpture, it was intended to "express the
town's gratitude for the decisive victory of the English fleet at Trafalgar. To
Liverpool merchants the defeat of the French meant that they could once again
trade internationally in peace. Its architectural design dates from 1807-08,
and the Friends of Liverpool Monuments consider it "the most important
Neo-classical sculpture in Liverpool. The monument by Sir Richard Westmacott,
RA, sculptor and Matthew Cotes Wyatt, designer has a granite. Pedestal made of
Westmorland marble. Its overall height is 14 feet 2 inches.
The monument has a cylindrical plinth with four battle
reliefs, separated by a life-size nude male captive in chains above, the
apotheosis of the hero of Trafalgar, with the skeletal figure of Death emerging
from under a captured flag. It has four prisoners that represent captured
sailors in torment from Nelson’s four greatest triumphs. About 4000 French
prisoners of war were held in Liverpool during the Napoleonic Wars. At the top
of the pedestal is a cornice with an inscription in metal letters reading
"ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY".
The sculpture was funded by public subscription, William
Roscoe (1753-1831) donated a large amount of money to the fund and influenced
the choice of designer. As Roscoe was an anti-slavery campaigner, there are
debates around the sculpture having a dual role in symbolising both prisoners
of war and the suffering produced by slavery.
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The bronze monument was unveiled at Exchange Flags in October 1813. |
On 21st June 1956 during a hot summer the underground car
park below Exchange Flags was constructed, the scale of the construction is
evident when you compare the height of the monument with the excavation below.
The sculpture conservation team laser cleaned the Nelson
monument in Exchange Flags Square, Liverpool in preparation for the bicentenary
of Nelson's death in 2005. This involved removing the prisoner sculptures from
the base of the monument for laser cleaning in the conservation studio. The
main section of the sculpture was conserved on site under protective scaffold
and hoarding.
Exchange Flags
The Flags occupy the site of the old High Cross, where
merchants of the port transacted business in preference to meeting in the dingy
sunless arches of the Town Hall. Exchange Flags is set in the historic business
quarter, right in the heart of Liverpool’s city centre. It is home to the
Western Approaches War Museum, which was once the top secret headquarters from
where the Battle of the Atlantic was fought and won.
Sources
Liverpool Central Library
Liverpool Museums
Liverpool Records Office
The Victorian Web
By Robert F Edwards