hyde park    
grass page header image
sights button
events button
location button

History Navigation

Use the navigation links below to jump to a particular part of this page.

Roll your mouse over the images to see the title.

History of Hyde Park

Serpentine BoathousesHyde Park began as something quite different than the public park that it is today. It first came into the possession of the Royal family in 1536 when Henry VIII acquired it from the monks of Westminster Abbey. However, the park was to remain a private hunting ground for the next hundred years until Charles I decided to radically change the nature of the park by building the Ring, which is to the north of the Serpentine boathouses, and open the park to the general public in 1637.

Hyde Park has always been a refuge in the centre of London and in during the Great Plague 1665 many citizens left the city to camp in Hyde Park in the hope of avoiding the disease.
William III created Rotten Row, which got its name from the French ‘Route de Roi’ or King’s Road, at the end of the 1600s after he moved his court to Kensington Palace.
He installed 300 hundred oil lamps, building the countries first artificially lit highway, because he discovered that his walk from Kensington Palace to St James’s was so dangerous.

Back to Top

Cycling

Rotten Row

Cycling is allowed along Rotten Row and on all roads and specially designated cycle tracks in the Park, skateboarding and roller-blading are also allowed on these tracks.

A Poem About Rotten Row

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)

Rotten Row is now used by the Household Calvary to exercise their horses and is the route they take back to the barracks after the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Back to Top

The Serpentine

Serpentine

Swimming
The Serpentine Lido and Paddling Pool are open to the public seven days a week
from the end of June to 8th September each year.
Call +44 (0)20 7706 3422 for information on opening hours and booking.

Renovations

Hyde Park became the location for many national celebrations after George II wife, Caroline, carried out extensive landscaping in the 1730s, including the construction of the Serpentine.
In 1872, after a clash between Edmond Beales’ Reform League and the police, Speakers Corner was created as a place where people are allowed to speak about any subject they choose.
Decimus Burton’s designs were used to construct the Grand Grand EntranceEntrance to the park. The gateway spans about 107 feet and consists of 3 carriage entrance archways, 2 foot entrances and a lodge. Decimus Burton was also evolved in shaping how the park looks today, Kensington Gardens is largely flat, and Hyde Park has high and low features.
During World War II the iron railings around the park were collected to make war weapons and potatoes were planted throughout the park for food for the Londoners, once again becoming an important resource for the city during difficult times.

Back to Top

3 Arches

Marble Arch

Marble Arch

Marble arch was originally built as a gateway to Buckingham Palace in 1827 but was later moved to its present position in 1851. Gates are kept closed across the arch itself, as Royal vehicles are the only things permitted to go through the arch. There is a triangular plaque set in the ground at the point where Edgeware Road and Bayswater Road meet. This marks the spot where the Tyburn Gallows stood; public executions were held here until 1873.

Back to Top

 

Copyright © Steve Arscott 2006