Nelson Memorial

Nelson Memorial, Exchange Flags
1813
Grade II*

The monument to Nelson was Liverpool's first piece of free-standing outdoor sculpture, and its chief instigator William Roscoe wanted a design of the highest artistic standard. 

The sculptor was Richard Westmacott, and the overall concept was by Matthew Cotes Wyatt. 

Funded by public subscription, its real purpose was to celebrate the growing prestige of Liverpool, and its location at the Exchange served to remind the city's merchants of the protection afforded to their commercial interests by Nelson's naval achievements. 

The memorial shows Nelson receiving the Trafalgar battle honour from Victory, whilst Death reaches out to touch him with a skeletal hand. 

Four shackled prisoners in poses of anguish and dejection represent the four great victories at Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar.