Marble Arch, London
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England. Until 1851 it stood in front of Buckingham Palace.
The arch was designed in 1825 by John Nash as ceremonial entrance to the new Buckingham Palace, which he was then rebuilding from the former Buckingham House. At that time the palace did not yet have its present flat east front, which meant that the inner courtyard, flanked by two wings, was still open on one side. The Marble Arch was placed at the entrance to this open side of the courtyard.
Sculpture for the arch was commissioned from John Flaxman, Sir Richard Westmacott, Edward Hodges Baily and John Charles Felix Rossi; a bronze equestrian sculpture of George IV by Francis Chantrey was to stand on the top.
Construction began in 1827, but was cut short in 1830 because of rising costs.
Work restarted in 1832, this time under the supervision of Edward Blore, who greatly reduced Nash's planned attic stage and omitted its sculpture, including the statue of George IV.
The arch was completed in 1833
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia