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National Heroes Square

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View of National Heroes Square, Bridgetown, Barbados, February 2007
View of National Heroes Square, Bridgetown, Barbados, February 2007
The Cenotaph War Memorial and Lord Nelson's statue, November 2000
The Cenotaph War Memorial and Lord Nelson's statue, November 2000

National Heroes Square, formerly Trafalgar Square, is located in Bridgetown, the capital and principal commercial centre of the island-nation of Barbados. The square lies along Upper Broad Street and is on the northern shore of the Careenage ("Constitution River"), found directly in the centre of Bridgetown.

Name

The current name of National Heroes Square was adopted on 22 April 1999 and officially took effect on 28 April 1999.[1] The name refers to the Barbadian National Heroes.

In 2009, the government of David Thompson opened up a proposal to rename the circle found in the Historic Landmark square as "Parliament Circle",[1] and to completely redevelop and reconfigure the Square's layout.

Statue of Lord Nelson

A fixture of the Square on the west-end included a bronze statue of British naval hero Vice Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson. The statue in Bridgetown was unveiled on 22 March 1813 to commemorate the anniversary of the British Royal Navy's victory in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The local statue of Lord Nelson in Bridgetown was erected approximately 27 years before the more famous Nelson's Column in London, which serves as the centrepiece of Trafalgar Square.

As a point of reference, the statue of Nelson served as the geographic centre of Bridgetown. Since the colonial period many distances on the island from Bridgetown have historically been measured from the base of Nelson's statue, so that the statue functioned as Barbados' mile zero.[2] The use of the Bajan Nelson statue as a centring point is similar to the London statue in the British Capital; however Trafalgar Square is adjacent to the actual historic and geographic centre of London, which is actually located, immediately to the east, in Charing Cross. The monument which serves as London's exact centre is therefore not of Nelson, but the equestrian statue of Charles I, at Charing Cross, facing down Whitehall, standing where the Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross had previously stood before being moved to the Charing Cross railway station forecourt.

Discover more about Statue of Lord Nelson related topics

Statue of Lord Nelson, Bridgetown

Statue of Lord Nelson, Bridgetown

A bronze statue of British naval officer Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson was installed at National Heroes Square in Bridgetown, Barbados from 1813 to 2020. It has since been relocated to the Barbados Museum.

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in history.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).

Nelson's Column

Nelson's Column

Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during which he lost his life. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian order built from Dartmoor granite. The statue of Nelson was carved from Craigleith sandstone by sculptor Edward Hodges Baily. The four bronze lions around its base, designed by Sir Edwin Landseer, were added in 1867.

London

London

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised Greater London, which is governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, established in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. The Square's name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar.

Kilometre zero

Kilometre zero

In many countries, kilometre zero or similar terms in other languages denote a particular location from which distances are traditionally measured, this is also used for measuring distances between different countries around the world. Historically, they were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow the directions in early guide books.

Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; Northumberland Avenue leading to the Thames Embankment; Whitehall leading to Parliament Square; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall. The name also commonly refers to the Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross at Charing Cross station.

Equestrian statue of Charles I, Charing Cross

Equestrian statue of Charles I, Charing Cross

The equestrian statue of Charles I at Charing Cross, London, is a work by the French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur, probably cast in 1633. It is considered the central point of London.

Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross

Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross

The Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross is a memorial to Eleanor of Castile erected in the forecourt of Charing Cross railway station, London, in 1864–1865. It is a fanciful reconstruction of the medieval Eleanor cross at Charing, one of twelve memorial crosses erected by Edward I of England in memory of his first wife. The Victorian monument was designed by Edward Middleton Barry, also the architect of the railway station, and includes multiple statues of Queen Eleanor by the sculptor Thomas Earp. It does not occupy the original site of the Charing Cross, which is now occupied by Hubert Le Sueur's equestrian statue of Charles I.

Gallery

Source: "National Heroes Square", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, November 28th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Heroes_Square.

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References
  1. ^ The Trafalgar Square (Change of Name) Act, CARICOM Law
  2. ^ Carrington, Sean (2007). A~Z of Barbados Heritage. Macmillan Caribbean Publishers Limited. p. 135. ISBN 0-333-92068-6.
External links

Coordinates: 13°05′46″N 59°36′51″W / 13.09611°N 59.61417°W / 13.09611; -59.61417


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