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Designer | John Thomas Groves |
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Type | Stele |
Completion date | 1808 |
Dedicated to | Horatio 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]
![]() | |
| |
Designer | John Thomas Groves |
---|---|
Type | Stele |
Completion date | 1808 |
Dedicated to | Horatio 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]