Wellington Arch

Wellington Arch, from Constitution Hill.

Between 1824-25 there were several grand architectural projects in development that included the rebuilding of Buckingham Palace and a scheme for new gates and railings for the Royal Parks.

Piccadilly separated Green Park and Hyde Park and each was to have new gateways, to be designed by Decimus Burton, a 24-year old architect. His idea for the Green Park entrance could also function as an outer entrance to the rebuilt palace, so he designed two arches facing each other, over Piccadilly.

The original design.

Decimus Burton's Triumphal Arch became the scene of one of the Victorian eras'great controversies.

In 1839 the people wanted a monument to the Duke of Wellington, so the Wellington Memorial Committee appointed the designer Matthew Cotes Wyatt to design a monument 'to equal Nelson's column'.

Matthew Cotes Wyatt designed a giant equestrian statue of the Duke, which he proposed to be placed on the top of Burton's Arch. So, in 1846, the statue was mounted atop Burton's Arch, for a trial period and was ridiculed, with many saying that it looked absurd. Decimus Burton felt that the statue damaged his finest work and the statue was finally removed in 1883. One of his biggest gripes was that the statue looked 'across' the arch, rather than following the line of the gateway.

Dismantling Wellington Arch.

With the opening of Victoria station, in 1860, more pressure was placed on the roads as traffic crossed the already congested Piccadilly, which caused horrendous traffic jams at Hyde Park Corner.

So, in 1881, a scheme was devised to create a new junction and widen the road, but this would mean dismantling the Wellington Arch.

In 1883 the Wellington Arch was dismantled, to allow for the roadworks to be completed.

It was re-erected, on its current site, between 1885-86. This new location removed the arch's relationship with the Hyde Park Screen, but created a grand visual, for the arch, as it now looked directly down Constitutional Hill.

Walking with Keilyn: Crystal Palace Park and Wellington Arch

Sunday March 30, 2025.

The day was set to be a warm one, as Keilyn and I set off for Watford Metropolitan station, ready to begin another day in London. However, unlike our usual visits, I had yet to decide where to go. So, we sat on the train, which would be terminating at Baker Street, due to a points failure, still wondering where to go. Approaching Finchley Road, I had an idea, so we left the train and changed to a Jubilee line train, which we took to Green Park. Here we changed to a Victoria line train, heading for Brixton.

On exiting the station we had one minute to get to Bus Stop 'Q', where we hopped aboard the 432 towards Anerley Station. Roughly 30 minutes later we got off the bus, at Thicket Road, with Keilyn still having no idea where we were going.

We entered Crystal Palace Park, via Cintra Gate and found ourselves on the Lower Terrace. Once I had explained where we were we went off to explore the terraces, sphinxes, ruins and, of course, the BBC Transmitter.

Much of the structure is now protected, by metal railings, with some of the statues in a sorry state. Walking along the upper terrace you get a sense of how massive the site is. Standing at the top of the steps we were both amazed by how far we could see, so stunning was the view.

We then headed down the park towards the National Sports Centre, where people were running around the track, while others were practising Beach Volley Ball.

Following the path we descended the steps and turned south, heading around the lakes in search of the dinosaurs and other extinct animals. We spent a good forty-five minutes wandering around, spotting as many of the animals as we could, with only the Pterodactyle being obscured by the overgrowth.

We then headed towards the Crystal Palace Park Market, that we had spotted earlier, in search of some lunch. The market had food stalls from various corners of the Earth, while other traders were here to sell their unique wares: cheese. chili, wines, pastries, herbs and the like. The smells were incredible, as we made our way through the market, making us hungrier than ever. 

It was then that Keilyn noticed a Hot Dog stall. The sausages were thick and a foot long and looked amazing. Keilyn ordered a six-inch one, with ketchup, while I had the foot-long, with onions, gherkins and chili sauce. With food in hand we sat on the grass, in the shade of a tree, and tucked in. They were delicious!

Feeling like our bellies were going to burst, we headed off around the Lower Lake, making our wat back towards the Bus Stop, stopping at a local shop to buy some more drinks and an ice cream for Keilyn.