Across the crazy traffic circle in front of Apsley House, the Wellington Arch stands in isolated magnificence. With some exceptions we will note further along.
To read what Victoria wrote about the history of the Wellington Arch last year, click here.
Looking through the arch toward Buckingham Palace
Our Guide Clive points out the Wellington statue nearby.
The doors bear the royal crest.
Decimus Burton, architect of the arch and the Hyde Park Screen across the street, also
designed the iron doors, cast by Joseph Bramah & Sons of Pimlico. They are painted to resemble a bronze patina.
For information on the exhibitions at the Arch, go their website, click here.
We elevated to the top of the arch for the daily parade of guards and were excited at the view. Took many many pictures!
Through the screen and into the park beside Apsley House.
The Quadriga by Adrian Jones, finished 1912, replaced the monumental statue atop the Arch. The equestrian statue of the Duke had provoked considerable controversy, even ridicule, before it was dismantled and moved to its present location in Aldershot.
The monumental equestrian statue (8.5 metres high, aka 28 feet) overwhelmed the arch.
Completed in 1846, the statue was cast from 40 tons of bronze, mostly from melted down French cannons, at a cost of £30,000. Though everyone was unhappy, it was raised on the arch, where it stood until the necessity for moving the location of the arch itself in the late 1880’s.
Gigantic size!
In its present position atop a hill in Aldershot, Hampshire, near the Military Museum, the statue has found a suitable home. The responsible artist was Matthew Coates Wyatt (1777-1862). It was restored in recent years.
Today on the grounds of the Arch.
Wellington Statue near the Arch, by Joseph Boehm, 1888
Apsley House from atop the Arch
Close up of the capital of the Corinthian Columns
Apsley House from the traffic circle
The Wellington Arch, illuminated during the celebration
of the Battle of Waterloo Centenary, 2015
After a fond farewell to the Wellington Arch and its nearby statue of the Duke of Wellington, our tour group proceeded to the bus and our drive across London to the Tower.
Oh, I remember that day!!!!
So do I – especially the "gifts" left by the horses. If you recall, I was barefoot by then. Having that birds eye view of the Horse Guards is something I'll always remember. We saw them come, we saw them go. Fabulous!