Battle of Waterloo

The elegant Waterloo Bridge (Y Bont Haearn - the Iron Bridge) at Betws-y-Coed in north Wales was designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1815, the same year as the battle; the defeat of Napoleon is proudly commemorated in lettering on its side.

The Waterloo Memorial, also known as Wellington’s Column, Liverpool’s version of Nelson's Column in London, dominates this photograph. On it stands a statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British general, statesman and Prime Minister. After the Duke's death in 1852, in common with other cities, Liverpool decided to erect a monument to celebrate his achievements, and he is commemorated here as the victorious leader of the British forces in the Peninsular War 1808-14, which was caused by Napoleon's invasion of Portugal and Spain, as well as his final victory against Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. The column stands 132ft high, and the Duke's statue is a further 15ft. It is said that the statue was forged using the metal from cannon captured at the battle of Waterloo.

This is the first Waterloo Bridge in London, which was opened in 1817 by the Prince Regent; this view looks from behind Cleopatra's Needle on the north bank. Below are Victoria Embankment Gardens. On the far side there is a packed industrial waterside where now the South Bank Centre and the Royal National Theatre stand. This panorama of the river through broad lawns and lofty trees reveals the bridge's graceful character. Engineered by John Rennie and devised as both a river crossing and a monument to the battle, it was well over 1,000 feet long and surmounted by an open balustrade. In 1924, after engineering reports of a dangerous weakening of one of the main arches, the old bridge was closed to traffic. Work on the new Waterloo Bridge was started in 1937.