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The memorial is in the style of an Eleanor Cross and the shape is hexagonal. The pedestal commences with a richly moulded base and from the pedestal, and above the inscribed moulding, rise two storeys, richly and elaborately decorated with open tracery work. In the niche is an alabaster figure of Saint George, sheathing his sword over the dragon which lies slain at his feet, symbolic of the career of the Duke. The drum and everything above it rests on a shaft of dark, polished marble which emerges from the pedestal and around which winds a scroll bearing the names of four of the achievements which mark different eras in Wellington’s military career. ‘Assaye’ represents the Duke’s Indian Campaign; ‘Torres Vedras’, his successful defence of Portugal; ‘Vittoria’, the victory which delivered Spain; and ‘Waterloo’, the battle which saved Europe.
Title
Memorial to the Duke of Wellington
Date
1853–1854
Medium
stone
Measurements
H 563 x W (?) x D (?) cm
Accession number
BN1_LS_S085
Work type
Monument
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
8th April 1854
Access
at all times
Inscription description
on a 'ribbon' encircling the bronze central column: Assaye – Torres Vedras – Vittoria – Waterloo; brass plates on each side of the memorial inscribed: In memoriam / haec domus sacrosancta / Maximi Ducis Wellington / qua ipse adolescens / Deum colebat / reaedificatur / translation: In memory of the great Duke of Wellington this sacred building in which, in his youth, he worshipped God, is restored.
