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The name of the square celebrates the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805. The place used to be the royal stables. Around 1820 Prince Regent ordered the architect John Nash to recover this area. The present appearance of the square Trafalgar Square comes from the period around 1845. Its architect was Charles Barry.
The square consists of a large central area surrounded by roads on three sides. On the fourth side there is a staircase to the entrance of the National Gallery. The centre of the Trafalgar Square is dominated by the Nelson´s Column with fountains and four huge bronze statues of lions. On the top of the column, the statue of Lord Nelson was installed. Lord Nelson led the British Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar. On the northern side of the square is the National Gallery, on the opposite side you will see Saint Martin's-in-the-Fields Church. At each corner of the Trafalgar Square, there are pedestals with equestrian statues, the Statue of George IV, the Statue of Henry Havelock and the Statue of Sir Charles James Napier. Tourists used to like Trafalgar Square also because of the pigeons whom they would feed. In 2000 pigeon feeding was forbidden. Pigeons had been damaging the statues and other monuments, and were also considered the health risk.
Trafalgar Square is accessible by the tube (metro) - the station Charing Gross is right at the square.
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