Built in 1888, the monument celebrates the tercentenary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, which was sighted by English captains stationed in the city.

"[1] In commemoration of the defeat of the Armada, it was customary for the bells of St Andrew's to ring a merry peal annually on the Saturday night preceding 25 July.

Excursion trains were run and crowds gathered for the ceremony, which was marked as a public holiday and banquet at the city's Guildhall.

The memorial was inaugurated by the then Duke of Edinburgh, Alfred on 21 October 1890, with full civic pomp and imposing naval and military demonstration.

The tall plinth bears a wreathed medallion and a chest with a head, presumed by historian Nikolaus Pevsner to be that of Spanish admiral Sedonia.