The bronze statue of Lord Nelson in Birmingham

Sculpted by Richard Westmacott, the bronze statue of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, was the first publicly funded statue in Birmingham and the first statue of Lord Nelson in Britain. Initially commissioned following Nelson's visit to the city on 31 August 1802, the statue was unveiled on 25 October 1809. It originally 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.

Nelson stands in uniform, with his one arm resting on an anchor with the prow of a miniature ship: HMS Victory. Upon the ship is the Flag Staff Truck of the French ship Orient, flagship of the French fleet, sunk at the Battle of the Nile. The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two-storey building built in 1703 and demolished in 1784. It stood outside the Market Hall, which opened adjacent to it in 1835.

A major relocation occurred during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring in 1961, during which the carved plinth, cannon, and lanterns were lost. Since 25 April 1952, the statue has held Grade II* listed status. After a recent redevelopment, it returned close to its original location north of the church. It now stands on a plain plinth, surrounded by iron railings restored in September 2005 for the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons