When was hyde park built

Look for a plaque beside the track with the inscription,. Its Construction was supervised by the Surveyor of their Majesties' Roads, Captain Michael Studholme and it was the first lamp-lit road in the Kingdom. Designated as a public bridleway in the s, Rotten Row is one of the most famous urban riding grounds in the world '. This famous area of Hyde Park lies in the north-eastern corner of the park, facing Marble Arch. An Act of Parliament in declared this corner of the park an area for public speaking.

Speakers' Corner gained an almost mythical status over the years as a place where anyone could say anything they wanted on any subject, without fear of censure or legal repercussion, making Speakers' Corner an important place in the concept of free speech. The myth is not strictly true; though speakers are allowed to speak on any subject, their speeches do have to be considered lawful by the police, which is a rather vague term open to interpretation.

Speakers usually harangue passing crowds on Sunday mornings, and at other times of the week you will usually find Speakers' Corner to be an unremarkable area of the park.

The history of Speakers' Corner goes back to the year , when the infamous Tyburn Gallows were set up near this spot. You can see a plaque marking the gallows location set into the pavement on the far side of Oxford Street, opposite Marble Arch. Over the centuries some 50, people were hanged at Tyburn until the Gallows were finally taken down in People condemned to die at Tyburn were permitted to make a speech to the assembled onlookers before their execution.

Some used the opportunity to repent their crimes, others protested their innocence, and some criticised the authorities that had condemned them to die. The connection of Tyburn to public protest was firmly ingrained in the public mind by the time executions were moved from Tyburn to Newgate Prison. The tradition continued after the Gallows were removed, and protest marches often ended at what is now Speakers' Corner.

In a march by the Reform League, demanding an extension of voting rights, ended in violence when the government tried to stop protestors from entering Hyde Park. Three days of rioting ensued. Another protest the following year drew , marchers and forced the Home Secretary to resign. The government saw the wisdom of permitting controlled freedom of speech in a designated area of the park, and in enacted the Parks Regulation Act, granting the right to meet and speak freely in Hyde Park, as long as they didn't use obscene language.

The park continued as a popular destination for protest marchers even after Speakers' Corner was established. From the suffragettes held regular meetings near The Reformers Tree in the south-west corner of the parade ground.

It was a consciously ironic choice of venue, for the tree had gained its name from the fact that the Reform League, demanding the vote for all men , but not women, gathered at the tree in The tree was set on fire during one protest, and its stump became a focal point for further protests and a symbol of people's right to free speech and free assembly.

The stump is long gone, and in its place is a circular mosaic with the outline of a black tree against a white background. The original design called for the archway to be topped by a statue of George IV, Nash's patron, but rising costs and the king's death meant that the finished design was less elaborate and omitted the sculpture completely.

It was moved in to its present, rather oddly isolated location on what is now a large traffic island at the junction of Park Lane and Oxford Road. In theory, only the royal family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery are allowed to pass through the central archway. I say, in theory , because the archway is open and pedestrians pass through it all the time. It is made of stone faced with Italian marble. Close to Hyde Park Corner in the south-eastern corner of the park is a colourful garden area laid out in The garden is bounded by yew trees and planted with seasonal flower beds.

The combination of yew borders and flower beds is designed to resemble musical notes emerging from a trumpet's mouth. The roses are at their best in the summer months, but the seasonal planting means the garden is a pleasant space to enjoy at any time of year. Two statues grace the Rose Garden. Munro was a friend of Lewis Carroll , author of the Alice in Wonderland books. The fountain was made for a Victorian sunken garden that had to be destroyed to make way for a widening of Park Lane.

The fountain was moved to Regents Park in but was returned to Hyde Park in In a curious twist, the site of the Victorian sunken garden now holds the modern Joy of Life Fountain. The other statue in the rose garden is the Diana the Huntress Fountain not to be confused with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain further west.

It shows a nude figure of Diana, the goddess of hunting, drawing her bow. The fountain was donated by Sir Walter and Lady Palmer and installed in One of the most popular visitor attractions in Hyde Park is this striking water feature, officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 6 July , in memory of Princess Diana.

To call it a fountain is a bit misleading; it is a watercourse made of Cornish granite. Water flows in two directions from the highest point, down cascades and over shallows to a deep pool at the base. The design is meant to reflect the popular Princess's life. You will often find delighted small children wading along the watercourse or splashing in the pool, filling the air with their shrieks of happiness.

I think Princess Diana would have approved. Immediately north of the Diana Memorial Fountain is this striking bronze sculpture of a bird, inspired by the Egyptian symbol for the goddess of nature. The sculpture was created by Simon Gudgeon and was installed in The sculpture was donated by the Halcyon Gallery as part of a campaign to raise money for educational outreach projects in Hyde Park. You can see donor's plaques arranged at the foot of the sculpture, which stands beside the south bank of the Serpentine.

One of the park's lesser-known statues, but only because it is tucked away on South Carriage Drive, away from the main visitors' paths. The bronze sculpture is also known as Rush of Green and depicts a family and their dog rushing towards the park, while Pan plays his pipes to urge them on.

The statue was designed by Sir Jacob Epstein, one of Britain's most influential 20th-century artists. It stands near the Edinburgh Gate to the park. Twelve soldiers and six civilians were injured and seven horses died when the bomb was set off while the Queen's Life Guard was passing.

In memory of the four guardsmen who died, every time the Queen's Life Guard or other body of the Household Cavalry pass the memorial they bring their swords down to the carry position and observe 'eyes right' or 'eyes left' to focus on the memorial. Also, any band approaching the site ceases playing until they have passed. Just to be confusing, this memorial is shown on some maps of Hyde Park as the Cavalry Memorial, but since there is another Cavalry Memorial in the park, we've given this site a more accurate label.

North of the Serpentine, opposite the West Boathouse, stands this large granite boulder, given by the Norwegian Navy and Merchant Fleet in as a mark of gratitude to the British people for their support during WWII.

Both the front and rear faces of the stone are engraved. The front face reads, ' You gave us a safe haven in our common struggle for freedom and peace ', while the rear is carved with the words, ' Worked and shaped by forces of nature for thousands of years '. Near Hyde Park Corner in the south-east corner of the park is a bronze sculpture depicting St George on horseback, above a defeated dragon.

Around the base of the memorial is a frieze showing galloping horsemen. The sculpture was designed by Adrian Jones, himself an army veteran, and was made with bronze from guns captured during the war. The frieze around the base was added by Sir John Burnet, and the memorial was installed in Its original location was close to the Stanhope Gate but in it was moved to its current location near the Bandstand when Park Lane was widened.

Close to the east end of the Serpentine, set in a grove of birch trees, stands Britain's first memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The memorial was created in and was a gift of the Board of British Jews. The memorial takes the form of a garden of granite boulders.

He organised royal hunts to entertain ambassadors and dignitaries. Visitors watched from grandstands then enjoyed great feasts in temporary banqueting houses. The hunting tradition continued with Queen Elizabeth I. She also reviewed her troops in Hyde Park on the parade ground - a flat area next to Park Lane. The appearance of the park remained very much the same until when Charles l became king.

He created a circular track called the Ring where members of the royal court could drive their carriages. The park was opened to the public in and it soon became a fashionable place to visit, particularly on May Day.

During the civil war , parliamentary troops built forts in the park. They dug defensive earthworks on the east side to help defend the city of Westminster from royalist attacks. And you can see evidence of the earthworks today in the raised bank next to Park Lane. With the restoration of the monarchy in , Hyde became a royal park again and the new King Charles II replaced the wooden fence with a brick wall.

He restocked the park with deer and organised great carriage parades. Bigger changes happened when William and Mary became king and queen in They bought Nottingham House on the western edge of the park. They renamed it Kensington Palace and made it their main home in London. Another uniquely Georgian feature is the different ceiling heights at Native Hyde Park being higher on the ground floor than the second, with servant rooms residing at the top of the building.

Since its public opening, Hyde Park has seen history made many times within its railings. The park is also famous for being a bastion of free speech and peaceful protest. The likes of Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Queen have all made their mark here, and millions around the world joined the fun at Live 8 as it was beamed across the globe in In the run-up to Christmas, the park transforms into Winter Wonderland — a bustling spectacular of festive celebration, with shows, fairground rides, ice skating, markets and street food.