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Michael StrachanIncludes new fun challenges and scoresheet linksKensington Gardens

Copyright © ipointr.london 2015/2022 75 West Street, Harrow on the Hill, London HA1 3EL info@ipointr.london.co.uk First published in the UK in 2012 Text and images copyright © Michael Strachan Michael Strachan has asserted their 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 Albert Memorial).

!Kensington GardensMichael Strachan

INTRODUCTION A Royal Park - Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens is one of the eight Royal Parks that millions of visitors and tourists visit for free each year. The 5,000 acres of historic parkland provide unparalleled op-portunities for enjoyment, exploration and healthy living in the heart of the capital. This Royal park, situated in the heart of the Royal Bor-ough of Kensington and Chelsea, has a rich history. As one of London’s biggest green spaces, it helps to cool urban temperatures, reduce wind speeds and absorb pol-lution and flood water. You will see fine horticulture, ex-cellent wildlife sites and some of the country’s most im-portant buildings, statues and memorials. William III bought what was originally part of Hyde Park in 1689. An asthma sufferer, the king found the location quiet and the air clean so he commissioned Sir Chris-topher Wren to design the redbrick building that is Kens-ington Palace. Queen Anne enlarged the Palace Gardens by 'transferring' 30 acres from nearby Hyde Park and cre-ated the Orangery in 1704. 1In the heart of LondonAlbert Hall and Exhibition buildingsKensington Palace

The Palace was home to Princess Victoria and it was here that she received the news that she was to become Queen. There are a series of exhibits on the Royal family including Princess Diana, who is today commemorated here and over by the Serpentine. The Gardens are particularly popular for sunbathing and picnics in fine weather and as a healthy walking route to work for commuters. The paths are used extensively by joggers and runners. Cycling is allowed on the desig-nated path linking the Queen's Gate to West Carriage Drive, Mount Gate to the Broadwalk and the Broadwalk itself, from Black Lion Gate to Palace Gate. To hear this Introduction please click this icon To find out more about ‘What3Words’ please click this information icon 2If you would like to donate an amount which will help us cover our costs and continue to work on new publications please scan or tap the QR link below:

Planning Your Walk 1. If possible, walk with a friend. 2. Tell so me on e wh ere yo u are g oi ng . 3. Take ca re wh en w al ki ng a t 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. Take yo ur c am er a or came ra p ho ne w it h batte ri es f ul ly charged. 9. If printing out this booklet 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… Start at Queensway Underground station. (District & Circle lines) End at Lancaster Gate Underground station. (Central line) Use the Transport for London (TFL) planner to plan your journey. 35.0 km 3.1 miles 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 4Tick them off when you find them

From Bayswater to Lancaster Gate At the main station exit onto Queensway and turn right… Cross over the road and walk to the junction with Bayswater Road… Turn left along Bayswater Road, crossing Inverness Terrace to reach Porchester Gate on your left. Look up to the corner of a block of flats to find the first plaque celebrating the wartime Czechoslovak govern-ment-in-exile and their role in planning the assassination of the Nazi ruler of their country in this block. ‘Operation Anthropoid’ achieved its aim of killing Rein-hard Heydrich, one of the most virulent Nazis, but the brave soldiers and innocent citizens of that country paid a heavy price. 5

Walk on to 100 Bayswater Road where the novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie lived… Read his biography on page 25. Now cross to the park side and retrace your steps back to Black Lion Gate on your left… Each Sunday morning there is an artists’ market here where you can view and purchase drawings, paintings, sketches and watercolours, many of London scenes. Enter Black Lion Gate. Ahead lies the Broad Walk leading down to Kensington Road… As you walk on you will see the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Children's Playground on your right - she was the people’s ‘Princess of Hearts’ and there are many other connections to her around the gardens. There is a wonderful sculpture close by made from the hollow trunk of an ancient oak tree. The gnarled stump came ori-ginally from Richmond Park and was thought to be some 800 years old when it was moved to Kensington Gardens in 1928 as the gift of a Lady Fortescue.! Over the next two years the Elfin Oak was worked on by artist-illustrator Ivor Innes, who covered it with brightly-painted animals, elves and fairies, mostly carved from the oak, others were probably fashioned from plaster. 6

The tree depicts the world of the Little People, of Wookey the witch, with her three jars of health, wealth and happiness; of Huckleberry the gnome, carrying a bag of berries up the Gnomes' Stairway to the banquet within Bark Hall; and of Grumples and Groodles the Elves being woken up by Brownie, Dinkie, Rumplelocks and stealing eggs from the crows' nest. The inside cover of Pink Floyd's 1969 album Ummagumma has a picture of David Gilmour in front of the Elfin Oak. The comedian Spike Milligan loved this sculpture, raising money for its restora-tion in 1996. It is now a Grade II listed structure. Just nearby stands a beautifully con-structed wood and stone memorial foun-tain with very unusual taps. There is also a pleasant cafe nearby serving the parents who bring their children here. From the Broad Walk you can see a pirate ship in the park that draws many visitors, especially at the weekend when there are long queues to get on board. Continue along the Broad Walk… Looking right you can see, in the distance, the backs of the palatial buildings that line Kensington Palace Road - one of London's most expensive and exclusive streets. This road contains several diplomatic buildings including the Russian Embassy, and is guarded at each end by the Police. All photography here is forbidden and action will be taken by the police! 7

On your left you will catch your first glimpse of the Round Pond through the trees... Turn left by any convenient path, or across the grass, towards the Round Pond… This area often has very friendly squirrels and many spe-cies of birds cluster around the Pond to be fed by the tourists. Head right around the Pond before turning back to-wards the! marble statue of Queen Victoria with the facade of Kensington Palace behind… 8

The statue was designed by Princess Louise, Queen Vic-toria’s daughter, and presented by the Kensington Golden Jubilee Memorial Executive Committee in 1893. It shows the Queen, aged 18, in her coronation robes of 1837. For over 100 years, the gardens were part of Hyde Park, Henry VIII's huge deer chase. But in 1689, the new King and Queen, William and Mary, created a separate park. They bought Not-tingham House, on the western edge of Hyde Park, renamed it Kensington Palace and made it their main home in London. Queen Mary began to create a garden of formal flower beds and box hedges. The style was Dutch and designed to make William, who came from Holland, feel at home. The garden was enlarged when Mary's sister, Anne, be-came Queen in 1702. She asked her favourite landscape designers, Henry Wise and George Loud-on, to create an English-style garden. Anne also added the Orangery next to the palace. The biggest changes came in 1728 when Queen Caroline, the wife of George II, transformed Kensington Gardens into the park we know today. She took another 300 acres from Hyde Park employing Charles Bridgeman to produce a new design. 9Henry Wise19th century view of Kensington Palace

Take any convenient entrance to the Orangery… This baroque building was used by Queen Anne for en-tertaining and parties. It had under-floor heating and in winter it was used as a conservatory for delicate plants. The architect is thought to have been Nicholas Hawks-moor, the clerk of works on Kensington Palace and the designer of six new churches in east London. Kensington Palace is the official residence of many members of the British royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children George and Charlotte. The last reigning monarch to live there was George II. Princess Victoria was born here in 1819 and received the news of her accession to the throne in June 1837. (See video clip below…) The State rooms are open to the pub-lic and special exhibitions relating to royalty are often held here. 10Princess Victoria receives the news of her accessionTo find out more about visiting the Palace and Or-angery click the link below: http://www.hrp.or-g.uk/Kensington-Palace/kensington-palacetickets

The sketch shown to the right was drawn by the young Princess Victoria. Return to the Broad Walk by a convenient exit and look for a path on your right leading past the band-stand. At the junction with another path continue ahead… Walk through the entrance to the Flower Garden and continue until you see the Albert Memorial on your left… There is a simple but handsome stone Lodge built in a classical design on your right. You have now reached Queen's Gate which was an entrance to the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhib-ition. The avenue of mature plane trees and the Albert Memorial to your left marks the site of this world-famous Exhibition. 11Princess Victoria

The innovative iron and glass Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton who received a knighthood in recognition of his work. Paxton had been the head gardener at Chatsworth House where he had been experimenting with the newly invented cast plate glass held together with iron support in building large green-houses. Paxton applied the strength and durability of this combination to the plans for the Great Exhibition building. The Crystal Palace was large enough to hold entire living trees (as you can see from the illustra-tion above) and was hugely successful. It was removed in 1854 to South London where it gave the name to a whole district. It was eventually destroyed by fire in 1936 and never re-built. Turn left and then walk towards the Albert memorial along the Albert Ap-proach Road… On your right, across the road, is the Al-bert Hall, famous as the venue for every kind of public event from boxing to the annual BBC Promenade Concerts. Prince Albert - Queen Victoria's husband - died of typhoid fever at the age of 42. Soon after his death it was determined that a national memorial be created to re-cognise the British public's deep sense of loss. The idea came from the series of 13th Century Eleanor Crosses,(Charing Cross perhaps being the most famous). 12Joseph PaxtonPrince Albert

Officially titled the Prince Consort National Memorial, it is one of the grandest high-Victorian gothic extravaganzas and celebrates Victorian scientific and artistic achieve-ment and Prince Albert's passions and interests. Marble figures representing Europe, Asia, Africa and America stand at each corner of the memorial, and high-er up are further figures representing manufacture, com-merce, agriculture and engineering. Yet further up, near the top, are gilded bronze statues of the angels and vir-tues. Around the base of the memorial is the Parnassus frieze (shown above) where there are many carved figures depicting celebrated paint-ers, poets, sculptors, musicians and archi-tects, reflecting Albert's enthusiasm for the arts. Cross over the road at the pedestrian crossing opposite the Albert Hall… Turn left around the Albert Hall and look for the Victorian red-brick flats on your left - Albert Hall Mansions - where there is a blue plaque commemorating a British music conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent… 13Sir Malcolm Sargent

Sargent was an English conductor, organist and com-poser widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. As chief conductor of London's internation-ally famous summer music festival the Proms from 1948 to 1967, he was known and respected world-wide. When he took over the Proms from their founder Sir Henry Wood, he and two assistants conducted the whole two-month season between them. By the time he died, he had been joined by a large international roster of guest conductors. To many of his Proms audiences he was known as "Flash Harry” because of his debonair ap-pearance. Return to Kensington Gore and turn right… Look out for the unique London City of Westminster Milestone pictured opposite. According to one account attributed to the travel writer H.V. Morton this memorial was built of stone from the 'Mountains of Mourne' It is dated 1911 but could be older or even a metal replica of an original stone. Continue walking up Kensington Gore towards Exhibition Road… …to look at Lowther Lodge, the impressive red-brick building designed by Norman Shaw, one of the outstanding architects of his day. It now houses the Royal Geograph-ical Society, the UK's learned society and the professional body for geography. Note the two statues of explorers David Livingstone and Ernest Shackleton on the exterior. 14Norman Shaw

The Geographical Society of London, was founded by Sir John Barrow, Sir John Franklin and Sir Francis Beaufort in 1830 to promote the 'advancement of geographical sci-ence'. Originally a London dining club, it became known as The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. For readers of ‘The Lost World’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the main hall is the site of the young pteradactyl’s escape at the end of the story. The Royal Society has been supported many famous explorers and expeditions, including those of: Charles Darwin David Livingstone Robert Falcon Scott Richard Francis Burton John Hanning Speke Percy Fawcett Henry Morton Stanley Ernest Shackleton Sir Edmund Hillary Michael Palin, former ‘Python’ and travel broadcaster, was President of the Royal Geographical Society 2009 - 2012. Cross back over Kensington Gore and walk up West Carriage Drive towards the Serpentine… The gates now at the end of West Carriage Drive were made by the Coalbrookdale Company for the 1851 Great Exhibition. They were installed at the entrance to Lan-caster Walk in 1852 and moved to its present location during construction of the Albert Memorial. "The gates were designed by Charles Crookes. Each of the cast iron gates was cast in one piece. Their finials, supporting a crown, represent peace and the stags' head vases evoke the origins of the park.! 15

They were damaged by a bomb in World War II.” Look down to see the plaque loc-ated here. On your left you will see the original Serpentine Gallery, established in 1970 and housed in a classical 1934 tea pavilion. It takes its name from the nearby Serpentine Lake. This world famous gallery, now on two sites, focuses on modern and contemporary art and admission is currently free. Approach the Serpentine Bridge to cross over West Carriage Drive and take the path down to the Ser-pentine… The Memorial Fountain on your right is dedicated to Di-ana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Designed to express Diana's spirit and love of chil-dren, it was officially opened on 6 July 2004 by Queen Elizabeth II. Part of the Serpentine was opened in 1930 as Lansbury's Lido, named after the politician George Lansbury, and is partitioned off from the rest of the lake by a perimeter of buoys. There is a Hollywood connection here as the actress Angela Lansbury’s paternal grand-father was the same Labour Party leader and anti-war activist George Lansbury, of whom she felt in awe as "a giant in my youth.” 16George LansburyCoalbrookdale Gates 1854

The Serpentine Swimming Club is the oldest swimming club in Britain and members swim all the year round. There is a Peter Pan Christmas Day Race for the hardy and regular swimmers. If you walk up to the Lido Cafe… …you will find a special World War 1 plaque commemorating Captain J.O. Cooper who died fighting in the Royal Flying Corps. His family helped to fund the lido and his portrait is shown here. Look out for his plaque on the side of this building. (This plaque is also in-cluded in our Hyde Park Walk). The Serpentine was the venue for the Open Water Marathon (10! km) Swim and the swimming leg of the triathlon at the London 2012 Olympics. Turn back from the Lido Cafe along the Serpentine and, if possible, walk under the Serpentine Bridge. Or walk back up to West Carriage Drive, cross over the road and walk down and along the Long Water section of the Serpentine… Queen Caroline and her garden designer Charles Bridgeman dammed the Westbourne Stream to create this natural-looking lake called the Long Water. In doing so they created some of the finest views in London. Make a short diversion up the slope to your left to see Queen Caroline’s Temple… 17Capt. Jack Cooper

A Classical style summer house attributed to William Kent, it was built around 1734. Some of the graffiti inside dates back to 1821 when the park was first opened every day to visitors. It was later converted into a park keeper’s home but restored in 1976. The focus of the Queen Caroline’s new garden was Kensington Palace and the Round Pond that Charles Bridgeman dug in front of it. Avenues of trees radiate out from the pond like spokes on a wheel each giving a different view of the palace. Continue on up the slope to the ‘Physical Energy’ statue… 18Serpentine and Bridge in 19th Century printQueen Caroline’s Temple

This huge bronze of a man on horseback by George Watts stands at the junction of Lancaster Walk and In-verness Walk, between the Round Pond and the Long Water. It is based on a South African memorial to the con-troversial politician and businessman Cecil Rhodes. Walk back down to the Long Water and turn left… There are some lovely views back to the Serpentine bridge and on towards the Italian Gardens. There are also many varieties of birds to be seen here. Continue walking beside the Long Water… The bronze statue of Peter Pan is one of the most popu-lar statues in London. Standing in a leafy glade about half way along the west bank of the Long Water it has special importance for Peter Pan. In 'The Little White Bird', Peter flies out of his nursery and lands here. This site was chosen by J M Barrie, the author who created him. 19

Barrie began thinking about a Peter Pan statue in 1906. He took a series of photo-graphs of the six-year-old Michael Llewelyn Davies wearing a special Peter Pan costume. This was Barrie's ideal vision of Peter Pan that he planned to give to a prospective sculptor. Six years later, in 1912, Barrie paid Sir George Frampton to create the statue and on May 1st that year it appeared, as if by magic. However, Michael’s life ended tragically in 1921 - possibly in a suicide drowning in-cident involving a close friend Rupert Bux-ton. Take any direct and convenient route uphill to the im-posing granite obelisk Monument on your left near the junction of Lancaster Walk and Budges Walk. John Hanning Speke discovered Lake Victoria and led several expeditions to discover the source of the Nile. How-ever, he died in tragic and mysterious circumstances near Corsham in Wilt-shire in 1864 on the very day he was due to debate his discovery claim with Richard Burton. Designed by Philip Hardwick in 1866 it was paid for by public subscription and sponsored by the President of the Royal Geographical Society. 20Michael Llewelyn DaviesJohn Hanning Speke

Walk down the path (Budge’s Walk) to The Italian Garden… This was Prince Albert's brain-child, added in 1860 where the Westbourne River emerged to replace the old outfall. The architect and landscaper Sir James Pennethorne de-signed the layout; Sir Charles Barry, and his partner Robert Banks, designed the ornate pumphouse/shelter; and John Thomas was responsible for the reliefs and sculptures. There is a statue here by William Calder Marshall of Ed-ward Jenner, – the pioneer of vaccination. Jenner was an English physician who was a major contributor to the de-velopment of the smallpox vaccine. On 14 May 1796, Jenner tested his hypothesis by inocu-lating James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy who was the son of Jenner's gardener. (See painting below). He then 21Westbourne outfall - 19 century print

scraped pus from cowpox blisters on the hands of Sarah Nelmes, a milkmaid who had caught cowpox from a cow called Blossom, whose hide now hangs on the wall of the St George's medical school library. Nearby there is a small cafe and you will see the exit gate. Take this exit and cross the road to Lancaster Gate underground sta-tion where this walk ends. 22

Diana Princess of Wales Two names will always be associated with Kensington Gardens - Diana Princess of Wales and Peter Pan. It might seem strange at first to place these two together, a real Princess and a boy fairy, but they both live in the imagination of many millions of people around the world. Princess Diana lived in the Royal Apartments at Kensing-ton Place and the gardens were one of her favourite places. Following her tragic death we now have two areas in which she is remembered - the Memorial Children’s Playground at the beginning of this walk and the Memorial Fountain further on. The Playground reminds us that she worked with children as a young woman and they remained her focus throughout her life. The Fountain is now a special space where children and adults play in the water and perhaps remember Diana’s infectious good humour. Curiously this memorial is just a stone’s throw from the Lido which used to be the water play-ground for thousands of working class West London chil-dren before and after the Second World War. 23

J. M. Barrie Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Bar-rie created an ageless mischievous boy , Peter Pan, who spends his never-ending childhood leading his gang, the Lost Boys on the small island of Neverland. His ad-ventures feature a fantastic range of char-acters including mermaids, fairies, pirates, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside of Neverland. Peter Pan has featured in books, films and other media, always based on Barrie's works. The rights to the play 'Peter Pan' were given to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The Christmastime adventures of Peter Pan and Wendy form one of the great pantomime partnerships. T h e h o u s e where J.M. Barrie lived on Bayswa-t e r R o a d h a s h i g h g a r d e n walls en-c l o s i n g the house and garden, so we have reproduced the blue plaque here and in the Scoresheet. 24J.M, BarriePeter Pan

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