Why Nelson is not on his column

Nelson's Column on Castle Green in Hereford city centre

Hereford's Nelson's column stands right in the centre of the city, on Castle Green, but it doesn't have a statue of the famous admiral at the top.

Nelson was made a freeman of the city in 1802, and spent a lot of time at Ross-on-Wye.

The column was erected in 1809, four years after Nelson's death, but has no statue at the top as there wasn't enough money left to commission one.

Instead there's an unprepossessing urn at the top.

The column itself has suffered badly from the effects of time, graffiti and vandalism over the intervening 200 years.

Some work has been done to restore it in time for the 200th anniversary of Nelson's death, and there are now cannons around its base, and a fence to protect the monument.

Lord Nelson visits Worcester

Nelson at the Hop Pole Hotel, Worcester