This was my question, and I was very much put off by the use of the word "landmark".
In the New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998), the principal definition of that word is "an object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location".
The question was obviously referring to the Battle of Trafalgar, but the use of the word "landmark" steered me away from Trafalgar Square and towards Nelson's Column. The question master chose not to give me the points.
How would you describe Trafalgar Square, if not as a landmark?
Well: it's a large open space; it's a popular tourist destination; and it's a popular place of celebration on occasions of national rejoicing (e.g. when England win the World Cup). There are lots of ways you could describe it.
My dictionary (referenced above) offers two alternative definitions: "the boundary of an area of land, or an object marking this", and "an event, discovery or change marking an important stage or turning point in something". It gives two examples of the last definition: "the birth of a child is an important landmark in the lives of all concerned", and [as a modifier] "a landmark decision".
It specifically marks the second definition (the one beginning "the boundary") as historical, and I would suggest that the last of the three is figurative – i.e. it doesn't refer to an actual place in a landscape. In my book, Trafalgar Square is not a landmark, but Nelson's Column most definitely is.
Was Nelson's Column originally going to be named after King William the Fourth? Well, probably not. I don't know what they were planning to put up there when it was going to be named King William the Fourth's Square, but it would presumably include some form of statue or monument – which would have been named after the King. And this is rather beside the point; all I'm saying is that the use of the word "landmark" sent me in the wrong direction.
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