BY THE ART UNION OF LONDON, DATED 1868

The Nelson Memorial Committee proposed a General Subscription for the purpose of erecting a national Nelson monument in London in 1838. Willliam Railton won the design competition, his Corinthian column decorated with bronze acanthus leaves cast from British cannon was completed in 1843, Baily's 5.5 metre high statue of Nelson, facing south, towards the Palace of Westminster, surmounted the 56 metre granite column in November, the bas reliefs of the four battle scenes around the base were added in 1854 and Landseer's lions placed at the four corners in 1867.