How was Cleopatra’s Needle transported to London?
The obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle was presented to the British Government in 1820, although there had been plans to bring it back in 1801 as a memorial to the victories of Nelson and Abercromby over the French in Egypt. However, it was not until 1877 that the obelisk finally arrived in this country.
As it weighed over 200 tons it was encased in an iron cylinder which was then rolled by means of levers and chains down a track into the sea. It was fitted with a deckhouse, mast, rudder and steering gear and was manned by a crew of Maltese sailors. This ‘craft’ was named Cleopatra and was to be towed to Great Britain by the steamship Olga. They sailed on 21 September 1877. Captain Henry Carter (who had supervised her construction) commanded the Cleopatra and Captain Booth was in command of the Olga.
The two vessels could only make 7 knots and disaster struck in the Bay of Biscay when the tow ropes had to be cut in a violent storm. Six men from the Olga were drowned in the first attempt to get the men off the Cleopatra – finally Captain Carter and his crew were rescued and the Cleopatra drifted away in the storm. It was assumed she was lost but she was later sighted by the Fitzmaurice and towed in to Ferrol Harbour. From there, she was towed back to England by the paddle tug Anglia arriving at Gravesend on 21 Janaury 1878.
The obelisk was eventually erected on the Thames Embankment. The two sphinxes were cast in bronze at the Ecclestone Iron Works in Pimlico in 1881. The Cleopatra was broken up immediately after the obelisk had been removed on 6 July 1878.