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1Michael StrachanA Hyde Park Walk

2Copyright © heritagewalks.london 2019 75 West Street, Harrow on the Hill, London HA1 3EL info@walkingthepast.co.uk First published in the UK in 2012 Text and images copyright © Michael Strachan Michael Strachan has asserted his rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. (The cover illustration shows The Serpentine).

3Michael StrachanA Hyde Park Walk

INTRODUCTION Hyde Park has a long history as an open area in the West of London. From the hunting parties of Henry VIII, through its de-velopment as a public gardens and a lido to the ‘Rock n’Roll’ extravaganzas of the twentieth century it has served Londoners and tourists well. Hyde Park covers over 350 acres and took its name from the manor of Hyde. It was ‘acquired’ by Henry VIII in 1536 from the canons of Westminster Abbey, who had held it since before the Norman Conquest. It was enclosed as a deer park and re-mained a private hunting ground until James I allowed limited access to ‘gentlefolk’, and appointed a ranger to look after it. Charles I opened the park to the general public in 1637. When the Great Plague, struck London in 1665 many citizens fled the City to camp on Hyde Park, hoping to escaping the disease. In 1689, William III had a drive laid out across its south edge, formerly known as "The King's Private Road", now known as Rotten Row, a corruption of the French 'Route de Roi' or King's Road. By the late 1800s, it was used by the wealthy for horse-back rides. The Serpentine was formed by damming the little River West-bourne that flowed through the park. The 2nd Viscount Wey-mouth was made Ranger of Hyde Park in 1739 and shortly began digging the Serpentine lakes. The Serpentine is divided from the Long Water by a bridge designed by George Rennie (1826). 4Serpentine Bridge 19th CMarble ArchRocking in the Park 2013

In 1814 the Prince Regent organised fireworks here to mark the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1851 (during Queen Victoria's reign) the Great Exhibition was held. In 1866 Edmund Beales' Reform League marched on Hyde Park where great scuffles broke out between the League and the police. Eventually the Prime Minister allowed the meetings to continue unchallenged and since 1872, people have been allowed to speak at Speak-er's Corner on any subject. The Lido was set up by George Lansbury, the first Commis-sioner of Works, in 1930, and in warm weather is used for sun-bathing and swimming. In 1977 a Silver Jubilee Exhibition was held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 25 years on the throne and the Serpentine was the venue for Olympic water events in 2012. For many Londoners and tourists it is a premier venue for music shows, including the ‘Proms in the Park’ each year. To hear this Introduction please click this icon To find out more about ‘What3Words’ please click this information icon 5If you would like to donate an amount which will help us cover our costs and continue to work on new publications please scan the QR link below:

Planning Your Walk 1. If possible, walk with a friend. 2. Tel l s ome one where you are go ing. 3. Tak e c are when w alk ing at night . 4. Wear sensible clothes and footwear. 5. Always take a bottle of water to avoid de-hydration. 6. Don't try to do too much in one visit. 7. Check the opening times of all Museums and Galleries online. 8. Tak e y our ca mera o r came ra pho ne wit h b atteri es ful ly charged. 9. If you are printing out this do staple these!pages!together!. 10. Don’t forget to download your free Quiz and Plaque scoresheets by using the URL links on the next page… Starts at Marble Arch Underground station. (Central line) Ends at the same station Use the Transport for London (TFL) planner to plan your journey. 65.2 km 1-2 hrs

To make your walk more interesting… …we have created an on-line, interactive map which you can find by clicking the link below, or by scanning the green QR code opposite. This will only work if you are reading this guide on a smart device like an iPad: Plot-a-Route map We have also added some fun challenges - the first is a picture quiz. So you need to look out for interesting ob-jects such as ‘street furniture’, statues and architectural features shown in the I-Spy Challenge scoresheet. Click the link below, or scan the pink QR code opposite, to access a download for this scoresheet. It can then be printed or saved: I-Spy Challenge The second challenge is to ‘bag’ all the plaques along this walk. These are listed on a ‘Pastwalkers’ scoresheet along with their ‘what3words’ loca-tions. (Click the information icon op-posite for more about how ‘What3Words’ works). The plaque scores are based on age and quality rather than the importance of the person or event commemorated. Download by clicking on the link below, or by scanning the blue QR code opposite: Plaque Challenge 7Tick them off when you find them

Starting from Marble Arch As you exit the station turn right and walk to the junc-tion with Edgware Road and Bayswater Road… Take the crossing ahead leading onto a traffic island in the middle of the junction and you will see the stone marking the site of the Tyburn gallows… The ‘Tyburn Tree’ stood here for many centuries (1196 - 1793). with prison-ers taken in public proces-sion from Newgate Prison in the City, via St Giles in the Fields and Oxford Street (then known as Tyburn Road). Among the more notable individuals hung from the "Tree" were 8

John Bradshaw, Henry Ireton and Oliver Cromwell, who were already dead, but were disinterred and hanged at Tyburn in January 1661 on the orders of the Cavalier Parliament in an act of posthumous re-venge for their part in the beheading of King Charles I. Cross over to the left side of Edgware Road by the nearest safe crossing… Walk up Edgware Road briefly and pause at the entrance to Connaught Place to view the first plaque… Lord Randolph Churchill, was a Tory radical and coined the term 'Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, and attracted admiration and cri-ticism from across the political spectrum. His fore-most critics were in his own party, even among his closest friends, and what could have been a glitter-ing career was ended by his disloyalty to Lord Salisbury. His elder son was Winston Churchill. Return to Edgware Road and walk on to where you can see the ‘Vic-tory Services Club’ sign… This building occupies the site of 7 Edgware Road, the home in the late nineteenth century of James Selby, the celebrated, record-breaking coachman. 9John BradshawLord Randolph Churchill

The plaque is not displayed in public but we have included it in the score-sheet. This area, to the west of Edg-ware Road, was first developed as the fashionable Georgian suburb of Tybur-nia between 1800 and 1830. The video link below tells more about Selby’s famous run to Brighton and back. This was a famous racing route for amateur and professional drivers. Retrace your steps back to Marble Arch and turn right down the Bayswater Road… Pause at the junction with Stanhope Place to view the next plaque on the side of the Slovak Consular building… 10James Selby

Elsie Cotton, known professionally as Lily Elsie, was an English actress and singer during the Edwardian era. She was best known for her starring role in the London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow. Beginning as a child star in the 1890s, Elsie built her reputation in several Ed-wardian musical comedies before her greatest success in The Merry Widow, opening in 1907. Afterwards, she starred in several more successful operettas and musicals. Admired for her beauty and charm on stage, Elsie became one of the most photo-graphed women of Edwardian times. Continue along the Bayswater Road… At number 4 & 5 Hyde Park Place is a block of flats with an interesting Coronation plaque just to the right of the entrance steps. Next door to this block is the Roman Catholic Tyburn Martyrs shrine. The Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Je-sus of Montmartre, OSB is a Catholic order of Benedict-ine nuns, often known as Tyburn Nuns. The order relo-cated from France to London in 1903 and established the Martyrs' Shrine to honour the more than 350 Cathol-ic Martyrs who were executed in England during and after the Reformation. There is a Westminster green plaque here commemorating 105 martyrs, including those who died at the nearby gallows. 11Lily Elsie

There is another plaque dedicated to Gregory Gunne - one of the martyrs who made a prophecy about this shrine during his trial in 1585 - fulfilled in 1903! At the side of the Convent, is a rounded brick section with a door and window. Until it was incorporated into the church it was reputed to be London’s smallest house (10 Hyde Park Place). Less than 6ft wide and, with only two rooms connected by a ladder, it had been built to block a passage leading into St George’s churchyard. The picture opposite shows it in the early 70s before the convent had been built. Continue along Hyde Park Place … At number 21 Hyde Park Place there is an imposing victorian red-brick and stone building with a prominent plaque. This is the Oranje-haven, established by the exiled Queen Wilhelmina and her government as a club for Dutch ser-vicemen and women who had escaped from the Nazi occupation following the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. She frequently spoke to the nation over radio and came to be regarded as a sym-bol of the resistance. By 1948, she had re-turned to the liberated Netherlands - the only survivor of the 16 monarchs who were sitting on their thrones at the time of her coronation. 12Number 10 in 1970Queen Wilhelmina

Carry on walking along Hyde Park Place until you reach the junction with Albion Street… Cross over the main road into Hyde Park taking the short path immediately ahead of you across North Carriage Drive… Follow the route shown in ‘what3words’ on your device, (and in red on the map opposite), to reach the Reformer’s Tree… ‘The Reformers' Tree was an oak tree which became the focus of protests in 1 8 6 6 b y t h e R e f o r m League, a group cam-paigning to give all adult men the right to vote. The Reformers' Tree was set alight during the reform league riots of 1866 and the charred stump of the tree then became a notice board, a rallying point for meetings and a symbol of the right of the people to assemble. In 1872, an act of parlia-ment allowed public speak-ing in the north east corner of Hyde Park. People could talk about anything as long as they didn't use indecent or obscene language. 13

The north east corner area became famous all over the world as Speakers' Corner and we will see it later in this walk. Today a circular black and white mosaic sits in its place to commemorate The Re-formers' Tree. The mosaic was unveiled in 2000 by Labour politician Tony Benn.’ The inscription around the mosaic reads: ‘This mosaic has been designed to com-memorate the 'Reformers Tree’. A new oak tree was planted by the then Prime Minister James Callaghan on 7 Novem-ber 1977 on the spot where 'Reformers Tree' was thought to have stood.’ (See illustration opposite). Take the Emma FitzGerald Walk across to the Royal Parks buildings…Just as you enter the Royal Parks Headquarters enclosure there is a pathway leading downwards and to the right where… …within a short distance, you will come across an ancient hand water pump in a railed enclosure near the bottom of a hollow. It was probably used to provide drinking wa-ter for sheep and other animals that used to graze in the park. It is believed that the Westbourne River runs under the park in this location and hence the reason for the pump being located here. Now retrace your steps back to the Royal Parks Headquarters and the Old Police House… Policing in the Royal Parks dates back to 1872 when the Parks Regulation Act created a force of Royal Park 14Reformers’ Tree

Keepers. They were given all the powers of police constables within the Parks. In 1974 the Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act was passed and the Royal Parks Keepers be-came the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC). This Grade 2 listed building dates from 1832 and an original earlier house is shown in the print opposite… There is an unusual plaque here on the building which houses the Royal Parks Po-lice Station. It commemorates a war re-serve constable, Jack William Avery, who was stabbed nearby in 1940. Sgt. Jack William Avery was a British War Reserve Con-stable who was murdered after having served less than one year with the Metropolitan Police Service. Sgt. Avery was advised by a member of the public that a man was acting suspiciously. Frank Stephen Cobbett was writing on a piece of paper, and as Avery returned the paper Cobbett stabbed the officer in the groin or upper thigh with a carving knife. Avery died the next day. Cobbett, a 42-year-old homeless ex-serviceman and la-bourer, was sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Atkinson, but the jury strongly recommended mercy because of his "low mentality.” After an appeal, Cobbett served 15 years' penal servitude for manslaughter instead. Continue past the Ranger’s Lodge… 15Old Ranger’s House

As you walk down to the Serpentine bear right by any convenient path to reach the next memorial plaque… Engraved on a massive granite boulder is an inscription testifying to the bravery of the Royal Norwegian Navy and Merchant Navy and Norway’s gratitude to Britain for shelter and help in the struggle against the Nazis during World War Two. On the back are the words: "Worked and shaped by forces of nature for thousands of years”. Turn and walk towards the Serpentine bridge and divert briefly to look at the Serpentine North Gallery housed in an old military building to your right across the road… This second gallery opened in 2013, with Zaha Hadid’s renowned ‘Magazine’ extension on the original Grade II listed former gunpowder store. It comprises a second gallery space for contemporary art and houses the Ser-pentine Shop. 16Early print of ‘Magazine’ view

Cross over the Serpentine Bridge… Note the beautiful views on each side (some of which are reproduced in the Album for this walk). This bridge was designed by John Rennie the younger and built in the 1820s to carry the newly built West Carriage Drive along the boundary between Hyde Park and Kensington Gar-dens, dividing the lake into the Serpentine (East) and the Long Water (West). Having crossed the bridge! take any convenient path to the left down to the Serpentine edge and walk towards the Lido buildings… Walk up to the Lido cafe where you will find two plaques… The first is a special World War 1 plaque commemorating Captain J.O. Cooper who died fighting in the Royal Flying Corps and whose family helped to fund the lido. (This plaque is included in the scoresheet for this walk and also the Kens-ington Gardens walk.) This area of the Serpentine was opened to the public in 1930 as Lansbury's Lido, named after the politician George Lans-bury who was a driving force behind the project and who is commemorated by a plaque. It’s partitioned off from the rest of the lake by a perimeter of buoys. There is a Hollywood connection here as Lansbury was the paternal grandfather of the actress Angela Lansbury. 17Capt. J. O. Cooper RFC

He was a Labour Party leader and anti-war activist in the 1930’s - a man whom she felt "awed" by as "a giant in my youth.” Continue along this side of the Ser-pentine and walk around its eastern end to see the Waterfall feature… When Queen Caroline designed the im-poundment of the River Westbourne in the 1730s to create The Serpentine, a dam was built at the eastern end of the lake. Any excess water now flows over a weir at this eastern end and creates a waterfall into The Dell. The balustrade of the bridge over the weir can just be seen through the foliage above the waterfall. A short distance from the Waterfall is the Holocaust Memorial… 18George Lansbury

This was the first public memorial in Great Britain dedic-ated to victims of the Holocaust and was designed by Mark Badger, Richard Seifert and Derek Lovejoy and Partners. It was unveiled on 28 June 1983, during a ser-vice led by then-Environment Secretary, Patrick Jenkin, who described the memorial as "a reminder of the past and a warning for the future." The attending guests then sang hymns and "Adon Olam", a Sabbath hymn: (See beautiful video above…) Take any convenient path eastwards towards the Rose Garden… ‘The Garden opened in 1994 and was designed by Colvin and Moggridge Landscape Architects. The design was developed from the concept of horns sounding one's ar-rival into Hyde Park from Hyde Park Corner. The central circular area enclosed by the yew hedge is imagined to be the mouth of a trumpet or horn and the seasonal flower beds are the flaring notes coming out of the horn.’ 19

There is a lovely YouTube tour by Anna Cai (Rubato Music Centre) - follow the YouTube link on the previous page. It ’features mixed rose and seasonal herbaceous planting this charming little rose garden is a contemplative spot for the stressed Londoner or tourist to resort to in order to recover from the hustle and bustle of the busy and hectic city and to enjoy the beautiful sights and strong scents of the roses and their flower companions.’ Follow the main pathway over to the circular feature that has a fountain in the centre… The Fountain featuring a Boy and Dolphin design was made in 1862 by Alexander Munro, a friend of the Alice in Wonderland author, Lewis Carroll.! There is a small metal plaque on a post nearby explaining the fountain's history which is not included on the scoresheet. It origin-ally stood in a Victorian sunken garden that was demol-ished when Park Lane was widened – which is now the site of the Joy of Life fountain. The fountain moved to The Regent's Park in 1962 and returned to Hyde Park in 1995. This walk continues around the edge of the Park and the next features is the huge statue of Achilles… This area of London - Hyde Park Corner - is associated with the Duke of Wellington and his military achievements in the Penin-sular War and Europe. Apsley House, his London home, is over to the right and there are memorials to his soldiers in the green area of the Constitution Arch. 20Duke of Wellington

The 18ft statue of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, commemorates the soldier and politician, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). It was in-stalled by order of King George III and unveiled on 18 June 1822. It was made by Sir Richard Westmacott using 33 tonnes of bronze from cannons captured in Wellington's cam-paigns in France. The body of the statue is modelled on a Roman figure on Monte Cavallo in Italy. The head is based on the Duke himself. The statue was originally completely nude and caused such outrage that a small fig leaf had to be added soon after it was installed! Take the main path closest to Park Lane called ‘Lov-ers Walk’… On your right is the Memorial honouring the victims of the 7 July 2005 London Bombings. It was unveiled in a ceremony attended by the families of the 52 killed and members of the Royal Family, to-gether with senior political figures and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (shown right), on the fourth anniversary of the disaster, Tuesday 7 July 2009. It comprises 52 stainless steel pillars (stelae), representing each of the 52 victims, grouped in four inter-linking clusters reflect-ing the four locations of the incidents. Con-structed from solid-cast, long-lasting stainless steel, each stela measures 3.5 metres high and is unique, with individual characteristic finishes brought about by the casting process. Visitors can walk around and through the memorial, reading inscriptions marking the date, time 21

and locations of the bombings placed on each of the stelae as they pass. A stainless steel plaque listing the names of the victims is sited on a grass bank at the far eastern end of the memorial. The memorial was produced by a design team including architects Carmody Groarke and engineering team Arup, who worked in close consultation with representatives of the bereaved families and advisors from The Royal Parks and the DCMS, and was cast by Sheffield foundry Norton Cast Products. Carry on walking up Lovers Walk to reach the ‘Joy of Life’ fountain’… …depicting ‘two bronze figures holding hands while ap-pearing to dance above the water, with four bronze chil-dren emerging from the pool. It was designed by T. B. Huxley-Jones and dates from 1963, when Park Lane waswidened. It was donated by the Constance Fund (es-tablished by Constance Goetz) to replace the Boy and Dolphin Fountain which previously stood on this spot. This area was once a much-admired Victorian sunken garden created in the 1860s. Before that it was a reservoir supplying the royal palaces with drinking water. Continue along ‘Lovers’ Walk’ to reach ’the Animals in War Memorial’ - you’ll need to take the nearest safe pedestrian crossing over Park Lane … This commemorates the countless animals that served and died under British military command throughout his-tory. It was designed by English sculptor David Back-house and unveiled in November 2004 by Anne, Princess Royal. ‘The memorial was inspired by Jilly Cooper's book 22

‘Animals in War’, and was made possible by a specially created fund of £1.4 million from public donations of which Cooper was a co-trustee. The memorial consists of a 55!ft by 58!ft (16.8!m by 17.7!m) curved Portland stone wall: the symbolic arena of war, emblazoned with images of various struggling animals, along with two heavily laden bronze mules progressing up the stairs of the monument, and a bronze horse and bronze dog beyond it looking into the distance.’ Return to the last part of Lovers Walk and continue on towards the Marble Arch which you can see in the distance Pause at Speakers Corner… The origins of Speakers' Corner largely stem from 1866, when a meeting of the Reform League, demanding the extension of the voter franchise, was suppressed by the Government. Finding the park locked, demonstrators tore up hundreds of yards of railings to enter, and three days of rioting followed. The next year, when a crowd of 150,000 defied another government ban and marched to Hyde Park, police and troops did not intervene. Spencer Walpole, the Home Secretary, resigned the next day. In the 1872 Parks Regu-lation Act, the right to meet and speak freely (but not us-ing obscene language) in Hyde Park was established through a series of regulations governing the conduct of meetings. Continue by any convenient path towards the Marble Arch… 23

Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced tri-umphal arch in London. It was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to Buckingham Palace. In 1851, on the initiative of architect and urban planner Decimus Burton, it was relocated to its current site. After Park Lane had been widened in the early 1960s, the site became a large traffic island isolating the arch. Only members of the Royal Family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery are said to be permitted to pass through the arch in ceremonial processions. The Arch contains three small rooms, first used by the royal constables of the Park, then by the Metropolitan Police as a police station from 1851 until at least 1968. (John Betjeman made a programme inside it in 1968 and referred to it as a fully functioning police station). 24

One policeman first stationed there was Samuel Parkes, who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, during the Crimean War. The last plaque on this walk can be found on the other side of Park Lane at number 140… It is a Westminster Council green plaque, set high upon this building, commemorating Keith Clifford Hall, a pioneer in the fitting of contact lenses, who practised here from1945 to 1964. There are several entrances to nearby Marble Arch Station where this walk ends. 25Samuel Parkes in action by Louis William Desanges Keith Hall

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