Editing Trafalgar Square (section)

== {{anchor|Layout}} Geography ==
Trafalgar Square is owned by the King in Right of the Crown{{efn|"King in Right of the Crown" is [[legal fiction]] denoting the land is privately owned by the King and it is legally possible, though unlikely, to be sold to another individual. The [[Crown Jewels]] are under similar ownership.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.education|title=The convenient fiction of who owns priceless treasure|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 May 2002|access-date=21 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208154515/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/30/jubilee.education|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>}} and managed by the [[Greater London Authority]], while [[Westminster City Council]] owns the roads around the square, including the pedestrianised area of the North Terrace.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/2003/nov/27/trafalgar-square |title=Trafalgar Square   |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=27 November 2003 |access-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119112827/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/2003/nov/27/trafalgar-square |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The square contains a large central area with roadways on three sides and a terrace to the north, in front of the National Gallery. The roads around the square form part of the [[A4 road (England)|A4]], a major road running west of the [[City of London]].<ref name=gmap>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5077635,-0.1288193,17.75z|title=Trafalgar Square|publisher=Google Maps|access-date=21 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630131551/https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5077635,-0.1288193,17.75z|archive-date=30 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally having roadways on all four sides, traffic travelled in both directions around the square until a one-way clockwise gyratory system was introduced on 26 April 1926.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS185801367/TTDA?u=kccl&sid=TTDA&xid=7a1f2c7b |title=Trafalgar Square Traffic |date=23 April 1926 |work=[[The Times]] |issue=44253 |page=11 |access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref> Works completed in 2003 reduced the width of the roads and closed the northern side to traffic.<ref name="nytimes.com.2003">{{cite web|date = 3 August 2003|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/travel/travel-advisory-boon-to-pedestrians-in-central-london.html?src=pm|title = TRAVEL ADVISORY; Boon to Pedestrians In Central London|work = [[The New York Times]]|access-date = 22 November 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130510125435/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/travel/travel-advisory-boon-to-pedestrians-in-central-london.html?src=pm|archive-date = 10 May 2013|url-status = live|df = dmy-all}}</ref>

Nelson's Column is in the centre of the square, flanked by fountains designed by Sir [[Edwin Lutyens]] between 1937 and 1939{{sfn|Barker|2005|p=43}} (replacements for two of [[Boddam, Aberdeenshire#Peterhead granite|Peterhead granite]], now in Canada) and guarded by four monumental bronze lions sculpted by Sir [[Edwin Landseer]].<ref name=thornbury>{{cite book|first1=Walter|last1=Thornbury|first2=Edward|last2=Walford|author-link2=Edward Walford
|author-link1=George Walter Thornbury|title=Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery|series=Old and New London|volume=3|publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell, Petter & Galpin]]|location=London|year=1878|pages=141–149|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol3/pp141-149|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025423/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol3/pp141-149|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> At the top of the column is a statue of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]], who commanded the British Navy at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]].<!-- this is a good example of [[WP:BLUE]] and I cannot believe anyone this is information "challenged or likely to be challenged" -->

Surrounding the square are the National Gallery on the north side and [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]] Church to the east.<ref name=thornbury /> Also on the east is [[South Africa House]], and facing it across the square is [[Canada House]]. To the south west is [[The Mall, London|The Mall]], which leads towards [[Buckingham Palace]] via [[Admiralty Arch]], while [[Whitehall]] is to the south and the [[Strand, London|Strand]] to the east. [[Charing Cross Road]] passes between the National Gallery and the church.<ref name=gmap />

[[London Underground]]'s [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross station]] on the [[Northern line|Northern]] and [[Bakerloo line|Bakerloo]] lines has an exit in the square. The lines had separate stations, of which the Bakerloo line one was called Trafalgar Square until they were linked and renamed in 1979 as part of the construction of the [[Jubilee line]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Subterranean City: Beneath the Streets of London|first=Antony|last=Clayton|page=165|publisher=Historical Publications|year=2000|isbn=978-0-948667-69-5}}</ref> which was rerouted to [[Westminster tube station|Westminster]] in 1999.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2015/04/16/take-a-behind-the-scenes-tour-of-the-disused-parts-of-charing-cross-tube-station/|title=Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the disused parts of Charing Cross tube station|magazine=Time Out|date=16 April 2015|access-date=21 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222111410/http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2015/04/16/take-a-behind-the-scenes-tour-of-the-disused-parts-of-charing-cross-tube-station/|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Other nearby tube stations are [[Embankment tube station|Embankment]] connecting the [[District line|District]], [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle]], Northern and Bakerloo lines, and [[Leicester Square tube station|Leicester Square]] on the Northern and [[Piccadilly line|Piccadilly]] lines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf|title=Standard tube map|publisher=Transport for London|access-date=21 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103122419/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf|archive-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

London bus routes [[London Buses route 3|3]], [[London Buses route 6|6]], [[London Buses route 9|9]], [[London Buses route 11|11]], [[London Buses route 12|12]], [[London Buses route 13|13]], [[London Buses route 15|15]], [[London Buses route 23|23]], [[London Buses route 24|24]], [[London Buses route 29|29]], [[London Buses route 53|53]], [[London Buses route 87|87]], [[London Buses route 88|88]], [[London Buses route 91|91]], [[London Buses route 139|139]], [[London Buses route 159|159]], [[London Buses route 176|176]], [[London Buses route 453|453]] are only some among the bus routes that pass through Trafalgar Square.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/central-london-bus-map.pdf|title=Central London Bus Map|publisher=Transport for London|access-date=19 December 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313082004/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/central-london-bus-map.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2017}}</ref>

A point in Trafalgar Square is regarded as the official centre of London in legislation and when [[Kilometre zero#Great Britain|measuring distances from the capital]].<ref name="charingcross_feature"/>

{{Wide image|Trafalgar Square London 1908.jpg|1000px|Trafalgar Square, 1908|alt=Trafalgar Square, 1908}}
{{Wide image|Trafalgar Square 360 Panorama Cropped Sky, London - Jun 2009.jpg|1000px|A 360-degree view of Trafalgar Square in 2009|alt=A 360-degree view of Trafalgar Square}}