If you view large you will see streaks of falling rain which I think add to this pic. The Nelson monument The bronze monument was unveiled at Exchange Flags Square, behind Liverpool Town Hall, in October 1813. It was designed by Matthew Coates Wyatt (1777-1862) and sculpted by (Sir) Richard Westmacott (1775-1856). Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) was killed while leading the English navy to victory against French Napoleonic forces at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was Liverpool’s first major public sculpture and commemorates Nelson as a great English hero. To Liverpool merchants the defeat of the French meant that they could once again trade internationally in peace. The prisoner This sculpture is the west prisoner taken from the monument, one of four prisoners that represent captured sailors in torment from Nelson’s four greatest triumphs. About 4000 French prisoners of war were held in Liverpool during the Napoleonic Wars. The sculpture was funded by public subscription. William Roscoe (1753-1831) donated a large amount of money to the fund and influenced the choice of designer. As Roscoe was an anti-slavery campaigner, there are debates around the sculpture having a dual role in symbolising both prisoners of war and the suffering produced by slavery.