Nelson Monument
DesignerJohn Thomas Groves
TypeStele
Completion date1808
Dedicated toHoratio Nelson

The Nelson Monument, 120 feet (37 m) tall on a granite base,[1] stands on Portsdown Hill about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Portsmouth Harbour on the south coast of England. It was the eventual outcome of a movement started during Horatio Nelson's lifetime to "perpetuate the glorious victories of the British Navy".[2] By 1799 Nelson's prize agent Alexander Davison was able to use the Nelson name to spearhead a campaign[3] to honour "Britain's naval glory and pre-eminence". It was, however, Nelson's death at Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, that galvanized the campaign.[4]

A design for the monument by John Thomas Groves of the Board of Works was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1807,[5] The monument is modelled on the Aksum Stele, Ethiopia: Groves was inspired by the findings in Aksum of Henry Salt who visited Ethiopia in 1805.[6]

However, letters were written to The Times asking where the money Davison had raised had gone,[7] but the £4050 he raised was never recovered.[8] The final (and successful) attempt was paid for by the Navy itself.[9] This time the fund's driving force, Captain Thomas Fremantle, adopted a more altruistic approach,[10] and the monument commenced construction on 4 July 1807[11] with the final checks to the inscription[12] made just over a year later. The monument was rebuilt in 1899, but the bust is the original. The monument still serves as a navigation mark, used in compass corrections.

Although very near the town of Fareham, the monument falls within the boundary of Winchester City Council.[13] The adjacent Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, completed in 1871 as another Napoleon threatened England's south coast, is so named because of its proximity to the monument.[14]

Notes

  1. ↑ Pocock,T., Horatio Nelson (London, Brockhampton) 1987 ISBN 1-86019-908-9
  2. ↑ Howarth, D. and S. Howarth, Nelson: The Immortal Memory (Uxbridge: Corgi) 2004 ISBN 0-552-15085-1
  3. ↑ The Alexander Davison Collection, Sotheby's, October 21, 2002 Letter to Nelson to inform him of a Committee formed by The Duke of Clarence, The Prime Minister and others to examine proposals for a national monument.
  4. ↑ Padfield, P., Nelson’s War (Ware: Wordsworth) 1976 ISBN 1-84022-225-5
  5. ↑ Colvin, Howard, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840, (Yale University Press) 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "John Thomas Groves".
  6. ↑ Brown, Keith. "The Nelson Monument". anglo-ethiopian.org. Anglo-Ethiopian Society. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ↑ The matter was eventually brought before Parliament (The Times, Wednesday, April 26, 1809; pg. 2; Issue 7656; col B "Houses Of Commons"; Tuesday, April 25. "Abuse Of Patronage").
  8. ↑ Downer, M., Nelson's Purse: The mystery of Lord Nelson's Lost Treasures (Uxbridge, Corgi) 2004 ISBN 0-552-15085-1
  9. ↑ Naval subscriptions Archived 2007-05-03 at archive.today
  10. ↑ Smith, J., The Nelson Monument Portsdown Hill: a seamark re-discovered (Portsmouth, The Nelson Society) 2007 ISBN 978-0-9537200-6-4
  11. ↑ Smith, J., The story of Nelson's Portsmouth (Tiverton,:Halsgrove) 2005 ISBN 1-84114-476-2
  12. ↑ "Details of inscription". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  13. ↑ "Map and Details for Fareham Borough Council Local Authority".
  14. ↑ "Reason for name". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.

50°51′38″N 1°08′03″W / 50.86056°N 1.13417°W / 50.86056; -1.13417

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