Trafalgar square

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 square, a popular site for political demonstrations, is the site of Nelson's Column, and other sculptures.

Nelson's Column is in the centre of the square, surrounded by fountains designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1939 and four huge bronze lions sculpted by 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 Lord Nelson, the admiral who commanded the British Fleet at Trafalgar.

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’s foremost place politique,’as historian Rodney Mace has written.

The square is a popular tourist spot in London, and used to be particularly famous for its pigeons (Rock Pigeons). Feeding the pigeons was a popular activity with Londoners and tourists. The National Portrait Gallery displays a 1948 photograph of Elizabeth Taylor posing there with bird seed so as to be mobbed by birds.

There has been a Christmas ceremony every year since 1947. A Norway Spruce (or sometimes a fir) is given by Norway's capital Oslo and presented as London's Christmas tree, as a token of gratitude for Britain's support during World War II. As part of the tradition, the Lord Mayor of Westminster visits Oslo in the late autumn to take part in the chopping down of the tree, and the Mayor of Oslo then goes to London to light the tree at the Christmas ceremony.

For many years, revellers celebrating the start of a New Year have gathered on the square, despite a lack of civic celebrations being arranged for them. The lack of official events in the square was partly because the authorities were concerned that actively encouraging more partygoers would cause overcrowding.