:''For other places with the same name, see [[Trafalgar Square (disambiguation)]].''

{| align=right width=250<nowiki>px

|[[Image:Trafalgar squar</nowiki>e clouds.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Trafalgar Square viewed from the south-west corner]]

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|[[image:trafalgarsqu.canadahse.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Trafalgar Square and Canada House]]

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|[[Image:Canada House.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Canada House, in the west]]

[[Image:South Africa House.jpg|thumb|right|250px|South Africa House, in the east]]

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|[[Image:Trafalgar Square Fountain.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Fountain detail]]

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|[[Image:Trafalgar_night.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Trafalgar Square at night]]

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'''Trafalgar Square''' is a square in central [[London]] that commemorates the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] ([[1805]]), a British naval victory of the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but [[George Ledwell Taylor]] suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".

The area had been the site of the [[King's Mews]] since the time of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]. In the [[1820s]] the [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince Regent]] engaged the landscape architect [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]] to redevelop the area. Nash cleared the square as part of his Charing Cross Improvement Scheme. The present architecture of the square is due to Sir [[Charles Barry]] and was completed in [[1845]].

==Overview==

The square consists of a large central area surrounded by roadways on three sides, and stairs leading to the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] on the other. The roads which cross the square form part of the busy [[A4 road]], and prior to 2003, the square was surrounded by a one-way traffic system on all sides. Underpasses attached to [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross underground station]] still allow pedestrians to avoid traffic. Recent works have reduced the width of the roads and closed the northern side of the square from traffic.

[[Nelson's Column]] is in the centre of the square, surrounded by fountains and four huge [[bronze sculpture|bronze]] [[lion]]s [[bronze sculpture|sculpted]] by [[Edwin Henry Landseer|Sir Edwin Landseer]]; the metal used is said to have been recycled from the cannon of the French fleet. The column is topped by a [[statue]] of [[Horatio Nelson|Lord Nelson]], the admiral who commanded the [[Royal Navy|British Fleet]] at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]].

On the north side of the square is the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] and to its east the [[St Martin's-in-the-Fields]] church. The square adjoins [[The Mall (London)|The Mall]] via [[Admiralty Arch]] to the southwest. To the south is [[Whitehall]], to the east [[Strand, London|The Strand]] and [[South Africa House]], to the north [[Charing Cross Road]] and on the west side is [[Canada House]].

At the corners of the square are four [[plinth]]s; the two northern ones were intended to be used for [[equestrian statue]]s, and thus are wider than the two southern. Three of them hold [[statue]]s: [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] (northeast, [[1840s]]), [[Henry Havelock]] (southeast, [[1861]], by [[William Behnes]]), and Sir [[Charles James Napier]] (southwest, [[1855]]). Mayor of London [[Ken Livingstone]] controversially expressed a desire to see these replaced with statues of people more relevant to the [[21st century]].

In 1888 the statue of General [[Charles George Gordon]] was erected. In 1943 the statue was removed and re-sited on the Victoria Embankment in 1953.

The Square has become an enormously important symbolic social and political location for visitors and Londoners alike, developing over its history from "an esplanade peopled with figures of national heroes, into the country&#8217;s foremost ''place politique''," as historian [[Rodney Mace]] has written. Its symbolic importance was demonstrated in 1940 when the [[Nazi]] S.S. developed secret plans to transfer the Nelson Column to [[Berlin]] following an expected [[Germany|German]] invasion, as related by [[Norman Longmate]] in ''If Britain Had Fallen'' (1972).

== Pigeons ==

[[Image:Man_jumps_pigeons.jpg|left|120px|Playing amongst birds|]] The square is a popular tourist spot in London, and used to be particularly famous for its [[pigeon]]s ([[rock dove]]s). Feeding the pigeons was a popular activity with Londoners and tourists. The [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] displays a [[1948]] photograph of [[Elizabeth Taylor]] posing there with bird seed so as to be mobbed by birds. The desirability of the birds' presence has long been contentious: their droppings look ugly on buildings and damage the stonework, and the flock, estimated at its peak to be 35,000, was considered to be a health hazard. In 1996, police arrested one man who was estimated to have trapped 1500 birds for sale to a middleman; it is assumed that the birds ended up in the human food chain.

In [[2000]] the sale of bird seed in the square was controversially terminated and other measures were introduced to discourage the pigeons, including the use of trained [[falcons]]. Supporters of the pigeons and some tourists continued to feed the birds, but in [[2003]] [[Ken Livingstone]] enacted by-laws to ban the feeding of pigeons within the square. There are now relatively few birds in Trafalgar Square, and it is used for festivals and hired out to film companies, in a way that was not feasible in the 1990s.

[[Image:trafalgar_square_night_panorama.jpg|thumb|center|500px|Trafalgar Square from the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]] (looking south).]]

[[Image:Trafalgar square england 1908.jpg|thumb|center|500px|Trafalgar Square, 1908.]]

== The Fourth Plinth ==

The fourth plinth on the northwest corner was intended to hold a statue of [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]], but remained empty due to insufficient funds. Later, agreement could not be reached over which monarch or military hero to place there.

[[Image:Alison_Lapper_Pregnant_-_Trafalgar_Square.jpg|left|thumb|The current statue on the fourth plinth: [[Alison Lapper]]]]

In 1999, the RSA ([[Royal Society of Arts]]) conceived the idea of the '''Fourth Plinth Project''', which temporarily occupied the plinth with a succession of works commissioned from three contemporary artists. These were:

* "Ecce Homo" by [[Mark Wallinger]] (1999)

* "Regardless of History" by [[Bill Woodrow]] (2000)

* "Monument" by [[Rachel Whiteread]] (2001)

Wallinger's ''Ecce Homo'', whose title, in [[Latin language | Latin]], means "behold the man" (a [[Bible|Biblical]] reference), was of a life-sized man. Atop the huge plinth, designed for larger-than-life statuary, it looked miniscule. Some commentators said that, far from making the man look insignificant, his apparent tininess drew the eye powerfully; they interpreted it as a commentary on human delusions of grandeur.

Whiteread's ''Monument'', by an artist already notable for her controversial [[Turner Prize]]-winning work "House" and the Holocaust Memorial in [[Vienna]], was a cast of the plinth in transparent resin, and placed upside-down on top of the original. Following the exhibition project, some wished to see it continue in this role.

[[Image:London_Trafalgar_Square_2.jpg|right|thumb|250px|View across the square from the South East to to the National Gallery]]Various companies have used the plinth (often without permission) as a platform for publicity stunts, including a model of [[David Beckham]] by [[Madame Tussauds]]. The London-based American [[harmonica]] player [[Larry Adler]] jokingly suggested erecting a statue of [[Moby Dick]], which would then be called the "[[Prince of Wales|Plinth of Whales]]".

The best use of the fourth plinth remains the subject of debate. On [[March 24]], [[2003]] an appeal was launched by Wendy Woods, the widow of the anti-[[apartheid]] journalist [[Donald Woods]], hoping to raise £400,000 to pay for a 9 ft high statue of [[Nelson Mandela]] by [[Ian Walters]]. The relevance of the location is that South Africa House, the [[South Africa]]n [[high commission]], scene of many anti-apartheid demonstrations, is also located on Trafalgar Square.

A committe convened to consider the RSA's late-1990s project concluded that it had been a success and "unanimously recommended that the plinth should continue to be used for an ongoing series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists." ([http://www.fourthplinth.co.uk]) After several years in which the plinth stood empty, the new [[Greater London Authority]] assumed responsibility for the fourth plinth and started its own series of temporary exhibitions:

* [[Marc Quinn]]: Alison Lapper Pregnant (September 15 2005)

* [[Thomas Schutte]]: Hotel for the Birds (scheduled for April 2007)

Quinn's ''Alison Lapper Pregnant'' is a 3.6m marble torso-bust of [[Alison Lapper]], an artist who was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a condition called [[Phocomelia]].

== Redevelopment ==

[[Image:Trafsquareplans.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Members of the public read plans to pedestrianise part of the square, February 2003]]

In [[2003]] the redevelopment of the north side of the square was completed. The work involved demolishing part of the wall and building a wide set of stairs. This construction includes two lifts for disabled access, public toilets, and a small cafe. Plans for a large staircase had long been discussed, even in original plans for the square. The new stairs lead to a large terrace or [[piazza]] in front of the [[National Gallery, London|National Gallery]], in what was previously a road. Previously access between the Square and the Gallery was via two busy crossings at the north east and north west corners of the square. The pedestrianisation plan was carried out in the face of protests from both road-users and pedestrians concerned that the diversion of traffic would lead to greater congestion elsewhere in London. However, this does not seem to have happened; the reduction in traffic due to the [[London Congestion Charge]] may be a factor.

== Christmas Ceremony ==

There has been a Christmas ceremony every year since [[1947]]. A Norwegian [[Spruce]] is given by [[Oslo]] as a token of gratitude for Britain's support during [[World War II]].

==Political demonstrations==

[[Image:Rally in Trafalgar Square.jpg|thumb|[[Anti-war]] Rally in Trafagar square]]

The Square has historically been the venue for political demonstrations, attempts by the authorities to ban them, and riots of national importance. By the March of the year that [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson's]] column was opened the authorities were already banning [[Chartist]] meetings in the square. The ban held until the 1880's when the emerging [[labour movement]], particularly the [[Social Democratic Federation]] started to hold protests there. On "Black Monday", [[6 February]] [[1886]], there was a major protest over unemployment which led to a [[riot]] in [[Pall Mall]].

One of the first significant demonstrations in the modern era was called by the [[Committee of 100]] (which included the philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]]), for peace and against war and nuclear weapons, on [[19 September]] [[1961]]. Throughout the [[1980s]] there was a continuous anti-apartheid protest outside South Africa House. More recently the square has been the venue for the [[Poll Tax Riots]] ([[1990]]) and [[anti-war]] demonstrations opposing the [[U.S. invasion of Afghanistan|Afghanistan war]] and the [[Iraq war]].

The Square was also scene to a large vigil held shortly after the terrorist bombings in London on Thursday 7 July 2005.

==VE Day celebrations==

[[VE Day|Victory in Europe Day]] (V-E Day or VE Day) was May 8, [[1945]], the date when the Allies during the [[Second World War]] formally celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

Trafalgar square was filled with British subjects wanting to hear the formal announcement by Sir [[Winston Churchill]] that the war was over: it was packed to bursting point. Trafalgar square was used as a place of celebration and people from all over the country came there. A diary extract told how a father took his 3 children and wife to Trafalgar square, and they all held on to a piece of washing line so they didn't get lost in the massive crowd.

On [[Sunday]] [[8 April]] [[2005]] the [[BBC]] held a concert to celebrate the 60th [[anniversary]] of [[VE Day]] which was hosted by [[Eamonn Holmes]] and [[Natasha Kaplinsky]]. Many people who lived during the war attended, and many of the much younger generation, but most importantly many old veterans came and told the stories of their hardships during the six years of war.

== Access ==

Nearest [[London Underground]] station:

* [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross]] (Northern, Bakerloo lines) - has an exit in the square.

* [[Embankment tube station|Embankment]] (District, Circle lines)

* [[Leicester Square tube station|Leicester Square]] (Northern, Piccadilly lines)

==See also==

* [[Canada Square]]

== External links ==

{{commons|Trafalgar Square}}

* [http://www.camvista.com/england/london/trafsq.php3 Webcam in Trafalgar Square]

* [http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/other/trafalga.htm Detailed overview of sculpture at Trafalgar Square]

* [http://www.fourthplinth.co.uk/ 4th plinth project]

* [http://www.sculpture.org.uk/work/000000100159 Whiteread's "Monument"]

* [[The Guardian]]: [http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4079207-103690,00.html Mayor attacks generals in battle of Trafalgar Square]

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4247000.stm BBC on "Alison Lapper Pregnant"]

==Further reading==

*[[Rodney Mace]], ''Trafalgar Square: Emblem of Empire'' ([[London]]: [[Lawrence and Wishart]], [[1976]]).

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