Duke of Wellington statue

The statue

The Italian-born sculptor Carlo Marochetti made the bronze, which was unveiled on 8 October 1844 in front of a crowd reported at around 20,000. It stands on a plinth of Peterhead granite and is Category A listed. Walk round the base to see the bronze reliefs: the battles of Assaye and Waterloo on the sides, and smaller panels of a soldier returning home and going back to peacetime work.

The cone

People have been climbing up to place a traffic cone on the Duke's head since at least the 1980s. In 2013 the city council proposed raising the plinth to stop it, but the plan was dropped after a public outcry and a petition with more than 10,000 signatures. Today the cone is treated as part of the statue's character and turns up on Glasgow souvenirs and artwork.

Seeing it

The statue is in the open, so you can visit at any time. It sits in front of the Gallery of Modern Art, housed in the former Royal Exchange, which makes an obvious next stop. Buchanan Street, Queen Street station and George Square are a few minutes' walk, and the bars and restaurants of Royal Exchange Square are right beside it.

Highlights

• Bronze equestrian statue by Carlo Marochetti, unveiled 1844
• Usually topped with a traffic cone
• Category A listed, on a Peterhead granite plinth
• Bronze reliefs of Assaye and Waterloo on the plinth
• Outside the Gallery of Modern Art in Royal Exchange Square

Good to know

• It is an outdoor statue in a public square, free to see at any time.
• Please don't climb the statue yourself; the cone is placed by others and the monument is listed.

Frequently asked questions