Trafalgar Square, London

St Martin-in-the-Fields is the royal parish church (hence the royal coat of arms above the Corinthian portico), and also the parish church of the Admiralty. There has been a church on this site since 1222 at least. The original church was rebuilt in the reign of Henry VIII (1544) and replaced in 1726 by the present structure, designed by James Gibbs, a pupil of Carlo Fontana. The church is Gibbs's masterpiece, notable particularly for its Corinthian portico, its 56m/185ft high steeple and its elliptical ceiling (of Italian workmanship), supported on Corinthian columns. The font belonged to the previous church, of which there are some other relics in the crypt (worth seeing for its own sake, with massive square piers). To the north of the altar is the royal box or pew, to the south the Admiralty box. Above the chancel arch are the arms of George I. The church is notable for its variety of worship, its many musical concerts, and its social care work with the needy.

Nelson's Column ranks with Big Ben and Tower Bridge as one of the great London landmarks. The 56m/185ft high Nelson Monument, or Nelson's Column, by William Railton (1840-43) was constructed of granite from Devon. From the summit of the column a statue of Nelson 9m/27ft high, looks down on the busy activity of Trafalgar Square, with its fountains (designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and erected in 1948), its pigeons, its swarming humanity and its swirling traffic. On the base of the monument are four bronze reliefs, cast from French cannons, depicting Nelson's victories at Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar and bearing his famous words: "England expects every man will do his duty". The bronze lions at the four corners were modeled by Sir Edwin Landseer (1868).

Charles I Commemoration takes place on the last Sunday in January. Wreaths are laid on the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square, and there is a special service in Whitehall outside the former palace to commemorate the "royal martyr".