Fourth Plinth
The fourth plinth in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square, was originally designed by Sir Charles Barry and built in 1841 to display an equestrian statue. Due to a lack of funds to create a suitable statue it remained empty until 1999. The Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, an independent committee informed by public opinion, select the ongoing series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists. From 2005-2007 you could see Marc Quinn's Sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant and from 7 November 2007 Thomas Schutte's Model for a Hotel 2007 arrived. Model for a Hotel 2007 is an architectural model of a twenty-one storey building constructed in specially engineered red, yellow, and blue glass and weighing over 8 tonnes. The sculpture is 4.55 meters high, weighs 8.25 tonnes and has a total surface area of 110m2. The art installation is changed about every two years.
Charles I Equestrian Statue
Predating the entire square is the equestrian statue of Charles I, to the south of Nelson's Column. The statue was rescued by Charles II after being hidden during the Civil War. It was completed in 1663, and marks the original site of Charing Cross, from where all distances from the capital are measured. A Victorian imitation now stands outside Charing Cross station on the Strand, to the east of the square.
