Nelson's Column is
a monument in Trafalgar
Square in central London built to
commemorate the death
of Admiral Nelson at the Battle of
Trafalgar in 1805. The monument
was constructed between 1840
and 1843 to a design by William
Railton. The sandstone statue of
Nelson is by E. H. Baily and the
four bronze lions on the base,
added in 1867, were designed
by Sir Edwin Landseer.

The

column itself is built of granite
from Dartmoor.

Nelson’s Column

The monument was designed
by architect William Railton in
1838, and built by the firm Peto &
Grissell. Railton's original 1:22-
scale stone model is exhibited at
the National Maritime
Museum in Greenwich, London. The
entire monument was built at a
cost of £47,500, or £3.5 million in
2004 terms (roughly $6.1 million
US).

HISTORY OF COLUMN

Character of Admiral Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount
Nelson, 1st Duke of
Bronté, (29 September 1758 –
21 October 1805) was
an English flag officer famous
for his service in the Royal
Navy, particularly during
the Napoleonic Wars. Of his
several victories, the most well
known and notable was
The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805,
during which he was shot, dying
towards the end of the battle.

Downing Street is
the street
in London, England, 
United Kingdom,
which for over two
hundred years has
contained the official
residences of two of
the most senior
British cabinet
ministers: the First
Lord of the Treasury,
an office held by
the Prime Minister of
the United Kingdom,

Downing Street is located
in Whitehall in central London, a
few minutes' walk from
the Houses of Parliament and a
little farther from Buckingham
Palace. The street was built in the
1680s by Sir George Downing, 1st
Baronet (1632–1689) on the site
of a mansion called Hampden
House. The Prime Minister, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
the Chief Whip all have official
residences in buildings along one
side of the street. The houses on
the other side were all replaced by
the Foreign Office in the
nineteenth century.

Downing Street

Corner of Downing

Sir George Downing, 1st
Baronet (1632–1689) on the
site of a mansion called
Hampden House. Downing was
a soldier and diplomat who
served under Oliver
Cromwell and King Charles II,
and who invested in properties
and acquired considerable
wealth.

Downing planned to

build a row of townhouses
designed "for persons of good
quality to inhabit in..." 

Sir Downing

Was an Anglo-Irish soldier, statesman, and
diplomat. Downing Street in London is named after
him. As Treasury Secretary he is credited with
instituting major reforms in public finance. His
influence was substantial on the passage and
substance of the mercantilist Navigation Acts. The
Acts strengthened English commercial and Naval
power, contributing to the security of the English
state and its ability to project its power abroad. More
than any other man he was responsible for arranging
the acquisition of New York from the Dutch, and is
remembered there in the name of Downing Street,
Brooklyn, New York.

Gates Of Downing Street

With the movement for Irish
independence increasing in violence, it was
decided that these barriers would be retained,
and raised and strengthened. In addition, on 26
November 1920 construction commenced on a
substantial wooden barricade, 8 feet (2.4 m) high,
were erected at the end of the street. These were
described as being of a "substantial character"
mounted into proper foundations. Vehicle gates
were included in the barrier. The barriers were
taken down in 1922 with the creation of the Irish
Free State, but vehicle access has been curtailed
since 1973 when metal barriers were placed
across the entrance to the street

The first barriers in Downing Street
were erected at the St. James's Park
 end of the street for the unveiling of
the 

Cenotaph

 on 11 November 1920.

They were a public safety measure
intended to prevent the crowds in
Whitehall becoming too dense

Downing Street before the
gates were installed