Equestrian statue of Duke of Wellington in Aldershot UK

CountryUK
Town:Aldershot
Year of creation:1846
Rider(s):Wellington, Duke of

Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), better known as The Duke of Wellington, rose to prominence as a general during the peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. At the age of 44, he was the youngest officer ever to earn this rank. In 1815, he commanded the allied armies, defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. He was prime minister twice, and continued as one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. He remained Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until his death in 1852.
Sculptor(s):Wyatt, Matthew Cotes

(1777 –1862) was a painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors.

Description:

The making of the colossal (30 feet high) statue in Aldershot, using recycled bronze from cannons that were captured at the Battle of Waterloo, took thirty men more than three years. The legs of the horse are cast in solid metal, in order to bear the enormous weight. Originally the statue was erected at Hyde Park Corner, London on the Wellington Arch. The architect of the arch had tried to veto this plan, and many agreed with him that the statue looked ridiculous since it was out of proportion. It was nicknamed ‘The Archduke’ and was a popular topic in the satirical magazine Punch. Queen Victoria claimed that the statue ruined the view of the skyline from Buckingham Palace, and she privately proposed that the statue be moved. The Duke, who had only sat for the sculptor on two or three occasions, suddenly became very attached to the statue and would not consider its removal from its arch. After his death, in 1883, the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) suggested that the statue should be moved to Aldershot ‘where it will be highly valued by the Army’. In 1885, it was handed over there to the British Army. The statue fell into a sad state of repair in the last half of the twentieth century, but in 2004, it was restored to its original condition. The friends of the Aldershot Military Museum have taken on the role of ‘Friends of the Statue’. As far as I know, this statue is so the only one in the world with its own circle of friends (and its own car park).