Hyde Park, London

From Freepedia

For other uses, see Hyde Park (disambiguation).

Royal Parks of London
Bushy Park Green Park Greenwich Park Hyde Park Kensington Gardens Regent's Park Richmond Park St. James's Park

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England, and one of the Royal Parks of London. The park is divided in two by the Serpentine Lake. The park is contiguous with Kensington Gardens, which is widely assumed to be part of Hyde Park, but is technically separate. The boundary between the two is West Carriage Drive, which can be seen running north south on the map linked below. Hyde Park is 350 acres (1.4 km²) and Kensington Gardens is 275 acres (1.1 km²) giving an overall area of 625 acres (2.5 km²).

Contents 1 History and layout 1.1 Grand entrance 2 Sites of interest 3 Poem 4 Hyde Park in Fiction 5 See also 6 External links 7 Reference

History and layout

The oldest part of Hyde Park once belonged to the manor of Ebury. This land had an area of one hide (anything between 60 and 120 acres, or 0.24 to 0.49 km²), which gave the park its name. The land was acquired by Henry VIII in 1536 from the monks of Westminster Abbey. Much of the layout dates back to the work of architect Decimus Burton in the 1820s. Where Kensington Gardens is largely flat, Hyde Park has high and low features.

The park was the original site of the Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851. On July 20 1982 in Hyde Park and Regent's Park, London two bombs linked to the IRA caused the death of Seven horses and eight members of the Household Cavalry and the Royal Green Jackets. Additionally, it has been the venue for some famous rock concerts, including those featuring Jethro Tull (1968), The Rolling Stones (1969), Pink Floyd (1970), Roy Harper (1971), Queen (1976) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (2004). Furthermore, it was the location for Live 8. In addition, the photography for the Beatles album Beatles for Sale occurred at Hyde Park in autumn of 1964.

Grand entrance

The Grand Entrance to the park was erected from the designs of Decimus Burton. It consists of a screen of handsome fluted Ionic columns, with three carriage entrance archways, two foot entrances, a lodge, &c. The extent of the whole frontage is about 107 feet. The central entrance has a bold projection: the entablature is supported by four columns; and the volutes of the capitals of the outside column on each side of the gateway are formed in an angular direction, so as to exhibit two complete faces to view. The two side gateways, in their elevations, present two insulated Ionic columns, flanked by antae. All these entrances are finished by a blocking, the sides of the central one being decorated with a beautiful frieze, representing a naval and military triumphal procession. This frieze was designed by Mr. Henning, junior, son of Mr. Henning, who was well known for his models of the Elgin marbles.

The gates were manufactured by Messrs. Bramah. They are of iron, bronzed, and fixed or hung to the piers by rings of gun-metal. The design consists of a beautiful arrangement of the Greek honeysuckle ornament; the parts being well defined, and the raffles of the leaves brought out in a most extraordinary manner.

Sites of interest

Sites of interest in the park include Speakers' Corner (located in the north-east corner near Marble Arch) and Rotten Row which is the northern boundary of the site of the Crystal Palace. To the south-east is Hyde Park Corner. South of the Serpentine Lake is the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial, an oval stone ring fountain opened on July 6, 2004.

Poem

At Rotten Row around a tree

With Albert's help did Mr P

His stately pleasure dome design:

The greatest greenhouse ever seen;

A glass cathedral on the green,

Beside the crystal Serpentine.

(from 'Joseph and His Amazing Crystal Palace' by John Greatrex, parodying Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Hyde Park in Fiction

In Volume II of Alan Moore's graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a character implies that Hyde Park is named in honor of Mr. Edward Hyde, the bestial alter ego of Dr. Henry Jekyll.

See also

• Artillery Memorial
• Wellington Arch

External links

• Official website
  
• Map showing Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
• Hyde Park at Google Maps
• Hyde Park in the 19th C.

London parks and open spaces

Alexandra Park | Battersea Park | Brockwell Park | Burgess Park | Bushy Park | Cannizaro Park | Clapham Common | Clissold Park | Epping Forest | Finsbury Park | Green Park | Greenwich Park | Hackney Marshes | Hampstead Heath | Hampton Court Park | Holland Park | Hornchurch Country Park | Hyde Park | Island Gardens | Kennington Park | Kensington Gardens | Lincoln's Inn Fields | London Fields | Mile End Park | Morden Hall Park | Morden Park | Osterley Park | Oxleas Wood | Parliament Hill | Parsons Green | Plumstead Common | Primrose Hill | Queen's Park | Regent's Park | Richmond Park | Kew Gardens | South Norwood Country Park | St. James's Park | Streatham Common | Trent Park | Valentine's Park | Victoria Park | Victoria Tower Gardens | Waterlow Park | West Ham Park | Wimbledon Park | Wimbledon and Putney Commons

Reference

Room, Adrian, Brewer's Names, Cassell, London, 1992, ISBN 0-304-34077-4