Memorial

Cleopatra's Needle and Sphinxes

Cleopatras Needle

Source: Copyright Jeremy Bartlett

1/10

Current Location

Victoria Embankment, Westminster, City Of Westminster, Greater London, WC2N 6PB, England

OS Grid Reference

TQ 30545 80517

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Memorial Details

Type of Memorial: Obelisk
WMR Reference Number: 39718
Description: Obelisk incised with Egyptian hieroglyphs, dating to circa 1570 BC. Obelisk is mounted on a plinth and flanked by two sculpted Sphinxes, which were erected alongside the obelisk in 1878. The obelisk was a gift of the viceroy of Egypt, to commemorate the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. A brass plaque is set within the stonework of the plinth supporting one of the two sphinx that face onto Cleopatra's needle. The plaque commemorates the unrepaired damage caused to the plinth by the first raid by German planes in London during the First World War.
Inscription: Cleopatra's Needle, Shaft: (Egyptian hieroglyphics) Cleopatra's Needle, Plaque, River facing: THIS OBELISK, HAVING FALLEN PROSTRATE IN THE SAND AT ALEXANDRIA,/ WAS IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE/ OF NELSON AND ABERCROMBY,/ PRESENTED TO THE BRITISH NATION, A.D. 1819,/ BY MOHAMMED ALI, VICEROY OF EGYPT. ENCASED IN AN IRON CYLINDER IT WAS ROLLED INTO/ THE SEA/ AUGUST 29, 1877./ ABANDONED IN A STORM IN THE BAY OF BISCAY,/ IT WAS RECOVERED AND TAKEN INTO FERROL HARBOUR/ WHENCE, IN CHARGE OF CAPTAIN CARTER, IT REACHED/ THE THAMES, JANUARY 20, 1878. Plaque on the plinth of the Sphinx: THE SCARS THAT DISFIGURE THE PEDESTAL/ OF THE OBELISK, THE BASES OF THE SPHINXES/ AND THE RIGHT SPHINX, WERE CAUSED/ BY FRAGMENTS OF A BOMB DROPPED IN THE/ ROADWAY CLOSE TO THIS SPOT, IN THE FIRST RAID ON LONDON BY GERMAN AEROPLANES A/ FEW MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY/ 4TH SEPTEMBER 1917

Commemoration

War: Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
Number Commemorated: 2
Died: 2

War: First World War (1914-1918)

History

Maker(s): George John Vulliamy, Architect
C H Mabey, Sculptor
Costs: £15,000
Sponsor Type: private
Additional Cost/Sponsorship Information: £15,000 transportation costs. Sir W J Erasmus Wilson FRS paid for the transportation of the needle from Alexandria, Egypt to London, England by sea.

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Cleopatra's Needle and Sphinxes

Current Location

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Memorial Details

Commemoration

History

Cleopatra's Needle and Sphinxes

Current Location

OS Grid Reference

Names listed on this memorial

Contribute to the War Memorials Register

Memorial Details

Commemoration

History

Ceremonies

Conservation

Components

Further Information