Marble Arch

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Marble Arch

Marble Arch is a white Carrara

Carrara

Carrara is a city in the province of Massa-Carrara , famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione river, some 100 km west-northwest of Florence....
marble

Marble

Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for Marble sculpture, as a architecture material, and in many other applications....
monument near Speakers' Corner

Speakers' Corner

A Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London in London, England....
in Hyde Park

Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine ....
, at the western end of Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in London, England in the City of Westminster. With over 300 shops, it is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as the most dense....
in London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, England

England

Marble Arch tube station

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Encyclopedia

Marble Arch is a white Carrara

Carrara

Carrara is a city in the province of Massa-Carrara , famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione river, some 100 km west-northwest of Florence....
marble

Marble

Speakers' Corner

A Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London in London, England....
in Hyde Park

Hyde Park, London

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in London, England in the City of Westminster. With over 300 shops, it is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as the most dense....
in London

London

England

Marble Arch tube station

Marble Arch is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. The station is between Lancaster Gate tube station and Bond Street tube station stations on the Central Line, and is in Travelcard Zone 1....
of the same name. The name Marble Arch also refers to the locality of west London where the arch is situated, particularly the upper half of Edgware Road. Historically, only members of the royal family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery

King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery

The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery is a ceremonial unit of the British Army. It was named The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in 1947 when George VI of the United Kingdom decided that, following the mechanisation of the last batteries of horse drawn artillery, a troop of horse artillery should be kept to take part in the great...
were allowed to pass through the arch in ceremonial procession. Today, the arch is open to pedestrians.

History

In 1828, John Nash

John Nash (architect)

John Nash was an Anglo-Welsh architect responsible for much of the layout of English Regency London.Born in Lambeth, London as the son of a Wales millwright, Nash trained with architect Sir Robert Taylor , but his own career was initially unsuccessful and short-lived....
designed the arch based on the triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental arch, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war, actually used to celebrate a ruler....
of Constantine

Arch of Constantine

The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312....
in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
. It was originally erected on The Mall

The Mall (London)

The Mall in London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end, where it crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were based....
as a gateway to the new Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining, and a major tourist attraction....
(rebuilt by Nash from the former Buckingham House).

In 1851, the arch was moved to its present location during the building of the east front of the Palace. (A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen's state coach to pass through, but in fact the Gold State Coach passed under it during Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
's Coronation in 1953).

It has been speculated that the arch might be moved to Hyde Park, or to some other location.

Design

There are three small rooms inside that were used as a police station until 1950, first for the royal constables of the Park and later the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan police

Metropolitan police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force....
. One policeman stationed there during the early 1860s was Samuel Parkes

Samuel Parkes (VC)

Samuel Parkes Victoria Cross was an England recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations forces....
who won the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth of Nations countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in the Charge of the Light Brigade

Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War....
in 1854.

Some sculptures intended for the arch ended up on the façade of the National Gallery

National Gallery, London

The National Gallery in London, founded in 1824, houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square....
due to Nash's financial problems. In particular are those high up on the east façade, opposite the Edith Cavell

Edith Cavell

Edith Louisa Cavell was a British World War I nurse and humanitarian. She is celebrated for helping hundreds of Allies of World War I soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium....
memorial (Britannia

Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
) and above the old main entrance under the portico. These last two were originally intended to represent the campaigns of the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Order of the Garter, Order of St Patrick, Order of the Bath, Royal Guelphic Order, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Royal Society , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
, these sculptures include reclining personfications of Europe and Asia/India, with a blank roundel in between. Had the arch been completed as planned, the Duke of Wellington's face would have been depicted in the roundel.

Location

It is on the Central Line

Central Line

The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground....
.

The area around the arch forms a major road junction connecting Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in London, England in the City of Westminster. With over 300 shops, it is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as the most dense....
to the east, Park Lane

Park Lane

Park Lane may refer to:*Park Lane , a road in London, UK*Park Lane , a shopping mall in Halifax, Nova Scotia*Park Lane , a rugby stadium in Greater Manchester, UK...
(A4202) to the south, Bayswater Road

Bayswater Road

Bayswater Road is the main road running across the north of Hyde Park, London. To the east Bayswater Road becomes Oxford Street . It is where the fictional upper middle class Forsyte family live in the BBC series the Forsyte Saga....
(A402

A202 road

The A202 is a primary A road in London. It runs from New Cross Gate to London Victoria station. The section forms part of the London Inner Ring Road is known as Vauxhall Bridge Road....
) to the west, and Edgware Road (A5) to the north-west. The short road to the north of the arch is also known as Marble Arch.

The area once was home to the largest cinema screen in London in the Odeon Marble Arch

Odeon Marble Arch

The Odeon Marble Arch is a movie theater located opposite Marble Arch monument at the top of Park Lane, with its main entrance on Edgware Road, London....
. The screen was originally over wide. The Odeon showcased 70 mm films in a large circle and stalls auditorium. The cinema was converted into a mini-plex in 1997.

The area is also near to the largest Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is a major United Kingdom retailer, with over 840 stores in Marks & Spencer#International stores around the world, over 600 domestic and 285 international....
store in the United Kingdom.

The arch stands close to the site of the Tyburn

Tyburn, London

Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch. It took its name from the Tyburn , a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the Thames....
gallows

Gallows

A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging.A gallows can take several forms.*the simplest form resembles an inverted "L", with a single upright and a horizontal beam to which the rope noose would be attached....
(sometimes called 'Tyburn Tree'), a place of public execution from 1388 until 1793.

Marble Arch

History

Design

Location

Image gallery

External links