The statue of Horatio Nelson at the Bullring
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Horatio Nelson visited Birmingham in August 1802. Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, a statue was made in 1809, and unveiled at the Bull Ring in October 1809. This was the first public statue in the Town of Birmingham (it didn't become a City until 1889). The statue was moved during the 1960s and 2000s redevelopments, but once again faces St Martin's.
On the 31st August 1802, Horatio Nelson stayed in Birmingham. This was in the years when he was off duty, before he returned to the Royal Navy to help fight the Napoleonic Wars. He stayed at the Styles' Hotel (later Royal Hotel), which was on a site on Temple Row (from the 1960s this was Rackhams, but has been House of Fraser since 2000). Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, on board HMS Victory on the 21st October 1805, a statue was erected in his memory at the Bull Ring in 1809. This blue plaque was unveiled by The Birmingham Civic Society on the Trafalgar Bi-Centenary 2005, on the wall of NatWest on Temple Row (the bank closed this branch for good in September 2022).
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Four years after the death of Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar onboard HMS Victory (sniper shot from a French gunman). Birmingham became the first place in the world to erect a statue in his memory. £2500 was raised by public subscription, and it was made in 1809 by Sir Richard Westmacott. It was unveiled on the 25th October 1809, on the day that was declared to be the Golden Jubilee of King George III.
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Painting below on a Japanned Tray by Thoma Hollins, circa 1830-40. Showing a view of the Bull Ring from the High Street in Birmingham, towards the statue of Horatio Nelson and St Martin's Church (as it looked before it was rebuilt later in the century).
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This drawing is attributed to Thomas Allom, showing The Bull Ring and the Nelson statue in Birmingham in 1845. When the outdoor market used to be around the statue.
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Nelson stands in a uniform with one arm resting on an anchor with the prow of a miniature ship: HMS Victory.
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Upon the ship is the Flag Staff Truck of the French ship Orient (1791), flagship of the French fleet sunk at the Battle of the Nile.
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The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two storey building, built in 1703 and demolished in 1784. It stood outside of the Market Hall (opened nearby in 1835, roof and interior destroyed during WW2 in 1940, exterior walls demolished in 1963).
dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Nelson%20Bull%20Ring%201898.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Public Domain image of the Nelson statue at the Bull Ring, next to the Market Hall with the original plinth, lanterns and cannons, c. 1898. Unknown photographer
It has been Grade II* listed since 25th April 1952.
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The statue was moved in 1961 during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring and a carved plinth, cannon and lanterns were lost. The 2003 redevelopment returned the statue close to it's original location north of St Martin's Church.
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Nelson now again looks over St Martin in the Bullring.
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The railings were replaced in 2005 in time for the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations which was centred on the statue.
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In 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of the statue's unveiling, a medal was struck by St Paul's Mint of Birmingham. This floral trail piece in St Martin's Square (below) from the Birmingham City Centre Floral Trail 2009, was based on the medal Matthew Boulton had struck in 1805 after the death of Nelson, and given to all the sailors.
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As of 2022, the statue is 213 years old, making it one of the oldest surviving statues to still be on public display in Birmingham. The plinth has gotten a bit weathered since it was restored to the location facing St Martin in the Bullring in the early 2000s.
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Photography by Elliott Brown. 19th century images courtesy of the Birmingham Museums Trust.