From rubble to resilience: Horatio Nelson's enduring statue in Birmingham

The Statue of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, by Richard Westmacott stands in Birmingham, England. Created by public subscription in 1809, the statue is the first publicly funded statue in Birmingham and the first statue of Lord Nelson in Britain. Nelson, known for his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, visited Birmingham on 31 August 1802. The statue's unveiling took place on 25 October 1809. Initially, the statue stood on a cylindrical marble plinth carved with the people of Birmingham, surrounded by iron railings with lanterns standing on upended cannon at each corner.

However, the statue has had several moves in its life. The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two-storey building built in 1703 and demolished in August 1784. Later, it stood outside the Market Hall opened adjacent to it in 1835. In 1961, during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring, it was moved and the original railings, plinth, and cannon were lost. The statue now stands on a plain plinth, surrounded by iron railings linked by iron rope.

This restoration was done in September 2005, in anticipation of the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations. The statue forms the centerpiece of Birmingham's annual Trafalgar Day commemoration.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons