Author by : Constance Parker-Street

If you’re heading to London later this summer, you’ll be able to visit Trafalgar Square in the heart of the city and see the newly-restored monument to Admiral Horatio Nelson and his familiar lions. An extensive refurbishment has been ongoing since early 2006 – a little more than 200 years after Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Nelson’s Column, which was built as a tribute in the 1840s, is the centerpiece of Trafalgar Square (home of the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, nearby St. Martin-in-the-Fields and favorite site for political rallies and celebrations). It cost nearly £50,000 pounds to construct in those days, but it’s restoration is reportedly costing more than £425,000. Aside from removing the expected pigeon droppings (you’ll discover quickly that the pigeons are the Square’s most famous and persistent residents), the work has included steam cleaning and an x-ray examination of Nelson’s right arm, which was struck by lightning in 1888. The four bronze lions which sit and guard the column will also be spiffed up and ready for an expected August unveiling. The last time the column was restored to such an extent was 1968.

Many are surprised to learn that Sir Edwin Landseer, who designed and sculpted the lions in the 1860s, had never actually seen a lion in person. Using photographs and his own dogs for inspiration, he was able to create some of the most photographed and climbed-upon statues in the city. The last time the column was restored to such an extent was 1968.

If you visit this holiday season, make sure to visit the Christmas tree that adorns the Square. It’s donated every year from Norway as a thank you for work done by the Allies in World War II. You can also celebrate on December 31 each year with thousands of others – it’s one of London’s traditional gathering places in which to ring in the New Year.

[tags]London vacation, London travel, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column[/tags]

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