Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
World War I Firing Walls
Cercle solaire du Kiischpelt
Kiischpelt’s Solar Circle
Front of the monument from the ground
Niederwald Monument
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The Big Well
This Kansas Town Advertised the World’s Largest Well. It Wasn’t.
Rats didn’t take over the city by being foolhardy.
Do New York City Rats Deserve Their Bad Rap?
The Secret Gardens Saving the World’s Rarest Plants
Solo travel can be challenging and sometimes lonely, but it also often leads to the greatest adventures.
Dear Atlas: How Do I Unplug on a Solo Trip?

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London Wellington Monument

Wellington Monument

This once-controversial and slightly confusing statue of Achilles was built out of captured cannons.

London, England

Added By
Tony Dunnell
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Wellington Monument (Statue of Achilles).   Peter Trimming/cc by-sa 2.0
Wellington Monument (Statue of Achilles).   David Dixon/cc by-sa 2.0
Wellington Monument (Statue of Achilles).   stu smith/cc by-nd 2.0
The Wellington Monument, its offending attribute long since covered.   Tim Westcott/cc by-sa 2.0
Wellington Monument (Statue of Achilles).   N Chadwick/cc bys-sa 2.0
Wellington Monument (Statue of Achilles).   David Dixon/cc by-sa 2.0
  jooniur / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Wellington Monument   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
January 2025   DMStephenson / Atlas Obscura User
January 2025   DMStephenson / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Following his victory against Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, no man in Britain was more respected or more lauded than Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Titles and lands were bestowed upon the hero, and monuments were erected in his honor and in recognition of the men who fought with him.

Shortly after Waterloo, a patriotic, upper-class society known as Ladies of England commissioned a statue of Wellington on behalf of the nation’s women. They turned to the acclaimed sculptor Richard Westmacott, who cast the statue out of 33 tonnes of bronze from enemy cannons captured in the Battles of Salamanca (1812), Vitoria (1813), Toulouse (1814) and Waterloo.

The monument was unveiled in Hyde Park on June 18, 1822. It was an 18-foot-tall statue of Achilles, modeled on a Roman figure on Monte Cavallo in Italy, with the head based on the Duke himself.

It was also completely naked (Achilles' armor rests by his right leg), becoming London’s first public nude statue. And it was soon mired in scandal. As the author of Tour of a Foreigner in England put it at the time: “A great outcry has been raised against the undraped figure of Achilles."

You can only imagine the reaction from the Ladies of England, who had inadvertently (or so they claimed) funded what for many was a frightfully lewd statue of a young, muscular man with his bronze bits on display for all to see in Hyde Park. With decency and decorum at stake, the sculptor was promptly asked to add a small fig leaf to his statue, so as to spare the blushes of London’s impressionable ladies. He obliged, and the controversial part was covered up.

But the statue still had plenty of critics, and their complaints were not concerned with public dignity. For them, the statue was just a bit too confused. It was Wellington but it was Achilles. It was Achilles but appeared more like Adonis. And some simply argued that the shield held aloft by the statue was far too small to be that of Achilles, or of a hoplite shield of Ancient Greece.

Perhaps a more important criticism was raised by the British caricaturist George Cruikshank, who lampooned the statue in 1822. He pointed out that Wellington was a member of the government at the time, and argued that it was inappropriate that resources, public or private, should be devoted to projects like this, especially at a time when the country was in distress and people were starving. Which does seem slightly more important than a tiny bronze penis in a public park.

Related Tags

Memorials Monuments Military History War History Statues Military

Know Before You Go

The Wellington Monument, also known as the Statue of Achilles, is located in the southeast corner of Hyde Park, just off Park Lane and Achilles Way in Central London. It’s near the Queen Elizabeth Gate at Hyde Park Corner.

Community Contributors

Added By

Tony Dunnell

Edited By

Jaszmina Szendrey, rbenn250, jooniur, DMStephenson

  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • rbenn250
  • jooniur
  • DMStephenson

Published

November 11, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol4/pp375-405
  • https://hawksites.newpaltz.edu/virtuallylondon/2015/12/16/the-achilles-statue-wellington-monument/
  • https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/memorials,-fountains-and-statues/statue-of-achilles
  • http://www.speel.me.uk/sculptlondon/hydeparkachilles.htm
  • https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/11528
  • https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/wellington-and-waterloo/0/steps/24876
Wellington Monument
A4202
London, England, W1J 7NT
United Kingdom
51.50451, -0.152706
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Wellington Arch

London, England

miles away

Audley Square Spy Lamp Post

London, England

miles away

Down Street Underground Station

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Nearby Places

Wellington Arch

London, England

miles away

Audley Square Spy Lamp Post

London, England

miles away

Down Street Underground Station

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 108

Related Stories and Lists

The 11 Best Places to Visit Near Buckingham Palace for Curious Travelers

List

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Statue and cedar-shaped memorial in Veracruz.

    Veracruz, Mexico

    Plaza of the Lebanese Migrant

    A coastal monument honors one of Mexico's most notable immigrant groups.

  • Monument to Carrier Pigeons.

    Lille, France

    Monument to Carrier Pigeons

    This statue honors the thousands of Allied avians that served and died for France during World War I.

  • The memorial plaque.

    Hartlepool, England

    Heugh Gun Battery Memorial Tablet

    This memorial honors the first British soldier killed by enemy action on home soil during World War I.

  • Sharpshooter tree memorial

    Washington, D.C.

    Sharpshooter's Tree

    A diminutive plaque recalls the treetop sniper who almost killed Abe Lincoln.

  • The statue.

    Washington, D.C.

    The Winfield Scott Memorial

    The sculptor was instructed to add “stallion attributes” to the general's bronze mare.

  • Confederate Mound.

    Chicago, Illinois

    Confederate Mound

    The final resting place of up to 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

  • Free French Memorial with views across Greenock and Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

    Greenock, Scotland

    Free French Memorial Cross

    A war memorial dedicated to the Free French Naval forces of World War II.

  • Le mémorial de Mort-Homme.

    Chattancourt, France

    Le Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill)

    A memorial to the soldiers who died in the bloody battles to control Verdun in World War I.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.