Wellington Statue , Aldershot The Wellington Statue in Aldershot is a monument to Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington victor at the Battle of Waterloo and later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . Sculpted by Matthew Cotes Wyatt , it was the largest equestrian statue in Britain when it was unveiled at its original location on the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner in 1846 . Origins of the statue . In 1837 a Committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Duke of Rutland to raise sufficient funds for a memorial to Arthur Wellesley , the 1st Duke of Wellington . The sculptor was Matthew Cotes Wyatt . In the statue the Duke is shown on Copenhagen , the famous charger that he had ridden at Waterloo . Much of the bronze in the Statue is derived from French cannon captured at Waterloo and remelted in Wyatt ' s foundry . Wellington himself sat for the sculptor . Copenhagen , however , had died and a substitute horse was used as a model , which offended many at the time who saw a poor likeness to Copenhagen in the statue . The position selected for the sculpture was on top of the triumphal arch at Hyde Park Corner , built in 1827 – 8 in conjunction with an Ionic screen as part of a processional route between the park and Buckingham Palace . Wellington had his London residence at Apsley House , immediately next to the screen . The work was executed at Wyatt ' s workshop at Dudley House in the Harrow Road starting in May 1840 . The modelling work was done by Wyatt ' s son James Wyatt . The model consisted of more than than three tons of plaster of Paris formed over a timber frame with a beam for the backbone and transverse timbers like the ribs of a ship . The model was on a turntable in diameter and the artists could reach all parts of it by means of an adjustable stage that could be raised and lowered . The modelling work took three years . For casting , the model was lowered into a pit in a specially built foundry . The statue was cast in bronze melted in two furnaces ; one could melt twelve tons at a time , but this was found insufficient , so a second furnace of 20 tons capacity was constructed . Even so , the body of the horse and the lower limbs of the duke were cast in two pieces and the rest of the statue was cast in a further six pieces all between thick . The legs of the horse were cast solid so as to bear the great weight . At the time it was the largest equestrian statue in Britain , being high , from Copenhagen ' s nose to tail , and in girth . It weighed 40 tons . In 1846 the statue was moved with great pageantry from Wyatt ' s workshop to Hyde Park Corner . It was transported on a huge low carriage that had wheels in diameter and had been constructed by H . M . Dockyards at Woolwich . The carriage was hauled by a hundred men of the Scots Fusilier Guards ; as it emerged onto the road , it was greeted by enthusiastic cheers from the crowd of sightseers . Twenty nine horses then drew the carriage to Hyde Park Corner . It took some hours to get the statue into position for hoisting and the final lift and fixing into position on the victory arch was completed the following day . Move to Aldershot . Many thought the statue out of proportion to the arch : its architect , Decimus Burton , especially disliked it , and left money in his will for the statue ' s removal . Queen Victoria also regarded it as an eyesore , marring the view from Buckingham Palace ; however , it could not be tactfully moved during the lifetime of the Duke of Wellington , who would have seen such a move as an insult . When Wellington Arch , also known as " Constitution Arch " or ( originally ) the " Green Park Arch " , was moved in 1882 - 3 a short distance to its present location on Hyde Park Corner , the Statue of the Duke was removed and left in Green Park while its future location was debated . In 1883 the Prince of Wales , the future King Edward VII , suggested that it should be moved to Aldershot Military Town , " where it will be highly regarded by the Army . " Eventually Parliament agreed with his suggestion and the statue was taken to Aldershot for reassembly . Its removal from the arch had been a relief to the many critics who had considered it out of proportion and inappropropriate for such a location . On a visit to Aldershot , the Prince of Wales selected Round Hill close by the Royal Garrison Church as the new site for the Statue . Moving Wyatt ' s creation from London was no mean feat . However , it was successfully and ceremoniously handed to the British Army in August 1885 in front of a large crowd of onlookers . Restoration . The statue fell into a poor condition in the last half of the twentieth century , being largely hidden behind overgrown trees and bushes on Round Hill . In early 2004 Aldershot Garrison , supported by local conservation groups and volunteers , commenced a major restoration project to restore it to its original condition . The bushes were cleared and the statue was re - bronzed . The Friends of the Aldershot Military Museum have taken on the role of " Friends of the Statue " , supported by Aldershot Garrison , Rushmoor Council and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership .