page_title: Statue of Horatio Nelson, Birmingham
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Statue of Horatio Nelson, Birmingham / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: The statue of Horatio Nelson in the Bull Ring, Birmingham erected in 1809 was the town's first public statue.
context_page_description: The Statue of Horatio Nelson by Richard Westmacott, RA stands in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, England.
context_section_description: 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 (part of the mast) of the French ship Orient (1791), flagship of the French fleet, sunk at the Battle of the Nile. It originally stood on a cylindrical marble plinth carved with the people of Birmingham, surrounded by iron railings with lanterns standing on up-ended cannon at each corner.
  The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two storey building (a meeting hall over an open space), built in 1703 and demolished in August 1784. Since 25 April 1952 it has had Grade II* listed status.
  A related statue was constructed in Bridgetown, Barbados, in 1813. Like the Birmingham statue, it was also sculpted by Westmacott, and based on the same design.
  The statue was moved in 1961 during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring and the carved plinth, cannon and lanterns lost. After the recent redevelopment has returned close to its original location north of the church. It stands on the high balcony between the Bullring shopping centre and the new Selfridges store. Nelson now looks again over the church of St Martin in the Bull Ring. He now stands on a plain plinth, surrounded by iron railings linked by iron rope. These railings were the original railings, but were delayed from being installed by objections on the grounds of Health & Safety from the Bullring. However, the railings were restored in September 2005, just in time for the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations which centred on the statue.
  The statue forms the centrepiece of Birmingham's annual Trafalgar Day commemoration.
  In 2009, to mark the 200th anniversary of the statue's unveiling, a medal was struck by St Paul's Mint of Birmingham.
caption: The statue in 1898. the lamp posts, made from naval cannons, were part of the original design.
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