"ONE of Liverpool's most famous and celebrated monuments is due to emerge from behind its protective hoardings next week in time for Trafalgar Day.
The statue in Exchange Flags square, representing the naval exploits of Admiral Nelson, has been concealed behind a purpose built corrugated iron structure for more than a year to allow a comprehensive #150,000 restoration to take place.
The results are finally due to be unveiled to the public in a low-key ceremony next Friday, to mark the 200th anniversary of Nelson's most famous victory at Trafalgar.
Since it was first unveiled in 1813, the bronze statue had been exposed to many decades of atmospheric and maritime pollution which left it heavily corroded and covered with grime.
The four large prisoner sculptures at the base of the statue were removed and taken to the Conservation Centre in Whitechapel to be cleaned and repaired, while a protective hut was built around the rest of the statue to allow it to be laser cleaned on site.
Sam Sportun , head of sculpture conservation at the Conservation Centre, said: "The temporary structure had to be put in place for the safety of the public because we were laser cleaning the sculpture. However, it was easier to detach the figures of the prisoners and work on them in the studio.
"It was only when we started working on it that we realised what a huge monument it was.
"The detail had been eaten away by the corrosion, but the restoration has given the form back to the figures. Now they look like bronze and have a lustre again.
"I think people will be really impressed at how beautiful the statue now looks.
"Now that the restoration is complete, the statue will need to be maintained and re-coated every 18 months to two years to keep it in good condition."
The restoration work was funded by the Walton Group, which owns the Exchange Flags site, and overseen by National Museums Liverpool (NML).
The Grade II* listed monument, created by sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, was originally paid for by public subscription at a cost of #9,000. It was Liverpool's first major public sculpture and predated Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square by 30 years.
The four shackled prisoners-of-war at the base of the statue - which are sometimes wrongly taken for slaves - represent Nelson's four great victories against the French in the naval battles of Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar.
But the monument also marks his death at the hands of a sniper in the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805.
Nelson was particularly celebrated in Liverpool because his destruction of the combined
French and Spanish fleet meant the city's merchants could once again ply their lucrative international trade without interference.
Although it is not thought that Nelson ever visited the city, his mistress, Emma Hamilton, was born in the south Wirral village of Ness.
NML spokesman Stephen Guy said: "We're very excited about the cleaning of this monument. The commercial community owed a huge debt to Nelson, as he made the seas safe for our fleet and made sure we ruled the waves for the next century.
"It's a most wonderfully evocative statue which has captured the imagination of generations of people in Liverpool."
alanweston@dailypost.co.uk
Battle of Trafalgar was most significant naval combat in 19th century>
THE naval battle was the most significant naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, and the pivotal naval battle of the 19th century.
A Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships destroyed an allied French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships, west of Cape Trafalgar in south-west Spain. The allies lost 22 ships, the British none.
Admiral Lord Nelson, left, died late in the battle, by which time his victory had ensured his place as one of Britain's greatest military
heroes. The British victory put an end to Napoleon's plans to invade Britain across the English Channel.
After the battle, the Royal Navy remained unchallenged as the world's foremost naval power for a century."
"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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