Trafalgar Square was constructed in 1840 to celebrate the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar against the Spanish and Napoleon Bonaparte’s French fleet. This naval skirmish occurred in 1805 as part of the War of the Third Coalition. The square was designed by Sir Charles Barry, the same architect responsible for the Houses of Parliament. In the foreground is a sculpture of mermaids, tritons and dolphins in a fountain created by Edwin Lutyens. In the background is the 1843 equestrian statue of King George IV by Francis Chantrey. The buildings from left to right are: the National Gallery (1938), St Martin-in-the-Fields (1726) and the South Africa House (1933).