Gun Hill Signal Station

The lion is a well-known feature of Gun Hill and is certainly worth a visit.

It is best approached by the road signposted ‘Barracks via Gun Hill’ which turns off the main road at the foot of the hill. Stop at the first parking bay on the right and look back. You will see a footpath with an easy gradient which brings you to the lion in fifty yards.

The full-size white lion has been carved out of the coral rock; its upraised left front foot rests on a large globe representing the world.

Underneath is a Latin inscription in two parts; around the border is a quotation, and in the centre are the name and particulars of the person who did the work.

The inscription is virtually our only source of information about the lion.
The quotation reads (sic):

DOMINABITUR A MARI US AD MARE A FLUMINE US AD TERMINOS ORBIS TERARUM

This passage occurs twice in the Authorised (1611) Version of the Bible (Psalms 72.8 and Zechariah 9.10) and is translated as:

He shall have dominion (also) from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth

The sculptor has, of course used this quotation in a different sense from the original, ‘he’ referring to the lion as symbolic of Great Britain.

It is strongly suspected that the quotation was not taken direct from the Bible.