Trafalgar Square

The square lies in the City of Westminster where the West End meets Whitehall. It is named after the naval Battle of Trafalgar of 1805 and is the point from which road distances to London are officially measured. The Crown owns it and the Greater London Authority manages it.

John Nash drew the first plans in the 1820s, but the present layout follows Charles Barry's design, approved in 1840, and the square opened to the public on 1 May 1844. In 2003 the road along the north side was closed and a wide flight of steps now links the square to the National Gallery terrace.

Nelson's Column rises from the centre, topped by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson, and four bronze lions by Edwin Landseer were added at its base in 1867. The two fountains were redesigned by Edwin Lutyens in the late 1930s. On the northwest corner, the Fourth Plinth has shown a changing series of commissioned contemporary artworks since 1999.

The National Gallery lines the north side, and the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields stands to the east. Just south, an equestrian statue of Charles I, cast in 1633, marks the site of the original Charing Cross. Each December the city of Oslo sends a Norwegian spruce in thanks for British support in the Second World War.

The square is open at all times and free. Early morning is the quietest time for photographs; afternoons and evenings bring crowds, street performers and frequent rallies or events. Half an hour is enough for the square itself. Charing Cross station is on the south side, and the National Gallery is free to enter.

Nelson's Column and the corner plinth statues

Nelson's Column stands about 52 metres, or 169 feet, to the top of the statue, shorter than the original design of over 218 feet. The paving and stonework were built in granite from Aberdeen. Three corner plinths carry permanent statues: George IV on horseback on the northeast plinth since 1843, General Sir Charles Napier in the southwest corner from 1855 and Major General Sir Henry Havelock in the southeast from 1861. Against the north wall, busts of the admirals Jellicoe and Beatty were installed in 1948 and a bust of Cunningham was added in 1967.

At the southeast corner, a lamp standard was hollowed out in 1928 to make a police observation box, used until the 1970s and still in place.

The pigeon feeding ban since 2003

The square was once famous for its pigeons. Sales of birdseed stopped in February 2001, and in 2003 Mayor Ken Livingstone introduced bylaws banning pigeon feeding, with birds of prey used to discourage the flocks. Feeding them is still not allowed.

New Year's Eve crowds gather here every year. Since 2014 the Greater London Authority has run ticketed celebrations, and the main fireworks are centred on the London Eye nearby.