architecture, bridge, eyecatcher, Folly, garden, London, public park, pyramid, Temple, Tower

The Pagoda and Chinese Bridge, St. James’s Park, London, 1814

1814 saw the centenary of the ascension of the House of Hanover to the British throne. Although it was only a few years since George III had celebrated a reign of 50 years, it was decided that a grand national fête would be held in August to mark the occasion, an event which would also commemorate ‘General Peace’ and the anniversary of the ‘Glorious Battle of the Nile’.

architecture, London, Monument, Triumphal Arch

Coronation Streets: Ed Kluz Triumphant

Ed Kluz, The Arch of Londinium (detail)

Writing in Tatler magazine in 1961 the writer, and champion of the British countryside, Ronald Blythe, questioned why follies were common in the countryside, but seldom found in the city. Long before the ‘concrete and glass’ that constituted the cities in Blythe’s mind, costly and extravagant ornamental structures could be found on the streets of the capital. These were the triumphal arches built to celebrate the coronation of a new monarch.