Duke of York Column
51°30′22.8″N 0°7′54.5″W / 51.506333°N 0.131806°W | |
Location | London, England |
---|---|
Designer | Benjamin Dean Wyatt |
Type | Monument |
Height | 137 ft 9 in |
Weight | 16,840 pounds |
Opening date | 10 April 1834 |
Dedicated to | Prince Frederick, Duke of York |
The Duke of York Column is a
History
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, was the commander-in-chief of the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and led the reform of the army into a capable modernised force. The Duke is remembered in the children's nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York". When he died in 1827, the entire British Army, by general consensus following a proposal of the senior officers, forwent one day's wages to pay for a monument to the Duke.
When the sum of subscriptions for a monument to the duke reached £21,000 (equivalent to £1,934,155 in 2021), the committee overseeing the project asked a number of architects to submit proposals, and in December 1830 they chose a design by Benjamin Dean Wyatt. The mason Nowell of Pimlico was contracted to build the column for a sum of £15,760. Excavations for the concrete foundations began on 27 April 1831. The ground was excavated to a layer of natural soil, around 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m) below street level. A layer of
On 7 May 1850, Henri Joseph Stephan, a horn player in
Description
The column is of the
The total height of the monument is 137 ft 9 in (41.99 m).
Within the column a spiral staircase of 168 steps, lit by narrow apertures,[4] to the viewing platform. Given the small, fragile platform and the previous high demand for access, this column has been closed to the public for many decades.[7]
The column is set at the top of a monumental flight of steps forming a break in
References
- ^ Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, vol. 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 385
- ^ a b Timbs, John (1835). Arcana of Science and Art. London: John Limbird. pp. 29–31.
- ^ "The Suicide from the Duke of York's Column". The Times. No. 20490. 16 May 1850. p. 8. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Timbs, John (1858). Curiosities of London. London. p. 284.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - OCLC 28963301.
- ^ a b G. H. Gater; F. R. Hiorns, eds. (1940). "Carlton House Terrace and Carlton Gardens". Survey of London: volume 20: St Martin-in-the-Fields, pt III: Trafalgar Square & Neighbourhood. London: London County Council. pp. 77–87. Retrieved 29 December 2011 – via British History Online.
- ^ a b c "Victorian London – Buildings, Monuments and Museums – Duke of York's column". Victorian London.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1209794)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
Bibliography
- "Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany", The Mechanic's Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal and Gazette, Vol. 574, 9 August 1834, pp. 306–311 – a contemporary report on the building of the monument.
External links
- Media related to Duke of York Column at Wikimedia Commons