The Nelson Monument is a monument to Admiral Horatio Nelson located to the north of the Town Hall in Exchange Flags in Liverpool city centre.
The Grade II* listed monument was designed by Matthew Cotes Wyatt. It was sculpted by Richard Westmacott and unveiled in 1813.
The Grade II* listed description given by Historic England reads as follows;
"SJ 3490 NW 48/441
EXCHANGE FLAGS L2 Nelson Monument
14.3.75
II* Monument. 1813. M.Cotes Wyatt, with work by Westmacott. Stone and bronze on granite base.
Circular monument with encircling inscription 'ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY' repeated.
Four chained prisoners seated around a circular drum which has four reliefs in panels, and festoons. Bronze group on top, allegorical, of apotheosis of dead Nelson.
Base contains iron ventilator grilles for warehouse (now car park) beneath the square. Earliest public monument in Liverpool.
Listing NGR: SJ3415190539" SOURCE: (
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"In 1805, Liverpool City Council resolved to commemorate Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar by erecting a monument and voted to pay £1,000 towards its design and construction.
The Nelson Monument was Liverpool's first important piece of public sculpture, it was intended to "express the town's gratitude for the decisive victory of the English fleet at Trafalgar.
To Liverpool merchants the defeat of the French meant that they could once again trade internationally in peace.
Its architectural design dates from 1807-08, and the Friends of Liverpool Monuments consider it "the most important Neo-classical sculpture in Liverpool.
The monument by Sir Richard Westmacott, RA, sculptor and Matthew Cotes Wyatt, designer has a granite base with a pedestal made of Westmorland marble. Its overall height is 14 feet 2 inches.
The monument has a cylindrical plinth with four battle reliefs, separated by a life-size nude male captive in chains above, the apotheosis of the hero of Trafalgar, with the skeletal figure of Death emerging from under a captured flag.
It has four prisoners that represent captured sailors in torment from Nelson’s four greatest triumphs. About 4000 French prisoners of war were held in Liverpool during the Napoleonic Wars.
At the top of the pedestal is a cornice with an inscription in metal letters reading "ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY"
The sculpture was funded by public subscription, William Roscoe (1753-1831) donated a large amount of money to the fund and influenced the choice of designer. As Roscoe was an anti-slavery campaigner, there are debates around the sculpture having a dual role in symbolising both prisoners of war and the suffering produced by slavery."
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