Mayfair, Belgravia, and Bayswater | Page 3

only by
peacocks, ducks and rabbits.
The Serpentine, a noble stretch of water of 50 acres, has already been
described in "Kensington."
Hyde Park has always been noted for its springs. In 1725 the Chelsea
Waterworks Company obtained a license to supply the surrounding
districts, and built a reservoir and engine-house near Grosvenor Gate,
which existed until 1835, when, on the recall of the license, the
engine-house was demolished and the basin laid out with flower-beds
and a fountain. The present reservoir stands in the centre of the Park,
while opposite Stanhope Place on the north side is a Gothic drinking
fountain, the gift of the Maharajah of Vizianagram. The oldest of the
present roads in Hyde Park is Rotten Row, made by William III.; it is
now reserved for riding only, while under the trees on either side rank
and fashion have lounged and gossiped since the days of the Ring. The
popular derivation of the name is from Route du Roi, since it was
known first as the King's or Lamp Road; but possibly it has its origin in
the soft soil of which the ride since 1734 has been composed. The south
road, now the fashionable drive, was made by George II. about 1732, as
a short way to Kensington Park. The road from Alexandra Gate to
Victoria Gate crosses the Serpentine by a stone bridge built by Rennie
in 1826, and is the only one open to hired vehicles, which were first
forbidden the use of the Park in 1695. From the Serpentine a soft ride
runs parallel to the roadway as far as the Marble Arch; from this point
Hyde Park Corner is reached by a broad drive bordered with
flower-beds and trees, which replace the famous double avenue of
walnuts cut down in 1811. It is much patronized by society, who
congregate opposite Hyde Park Corner, near the Achilles statue, by Sir
R. Westmacott, R.A., cast from captured French cannon, and erected at

a cost of £10,000 by the women of England in 1820, "in honour of the
Duke of Wellington and his brave companions in arms." It is copied
from a Roman antique, but the name is a misnomer. The road along the
north side of the Serpentine is now thronged every day with bicyclists,
to whom the Park has been lately thrown open. Here also are held the
annual meets of the Four-in-Hand and Coaching Club during the season.
This road was widened in 1852. Of past and present buildings in Hyde
Park the following may be noted: When the Serpentine was made, an
old lodge was demolished which may have been the tavern known in
the reign of James I. as the "Grave Maurice's Head," and which later
became Price's Lodge. Up to 1836, on the bank of the Serpentine stood
an old house called the Cake House, and close to it was the old
receiving house of the Royal Humane Society, which was replaced in
1834 by the present building, designed by Decimus Burton. Among the
trees behind it is an old farmhouse (Hyde Park Lodge), the residence of
Major-General Bateson, Deputy Ranger, adjoining which are the old
barracks, now a police-station and guard-room, the head-gardener's
house, built in 1877, and the old magazine. The new magazine stands
close to the Serpentine Bridge, and contains over 1,000,000 rounds of
ammunition. Near Grosvenor Gate stood the Duke of Gloucester's
riding-house, built in 1724, which, after serving as the headquarters of
the Westminster Volunteer Cavalry, was demolished in 1824. The old
Ranger's Lodge at Hyde Park Corner was pulled down when Apsley
House was built.
The principal entrance to Hyde Park is at Hyde Park Corner, and
consists of a triple archway combined with a fluted Ionic screen, by
Decimus Burton, completed in 1828. The iron gates are by Bramah.
Cumberland Gate, the next in importance, was opened in 1744, with
wooden gates. Here in 1643 was posted a court of guard to watch the
Oxford Road, where the Court was residing, and here also military
executions took place. The Marble Arch, an imitation by Nash of the
Arch of Constantine at Rome, erected originally as an entrance to
Buckingham Palace, was moved to this site in 1851. Albert Gate was
made in 1841, on the site of the Cannon Brewery. The iron gates were
set up in 1845, and the stone stags on either side were brought from the
old Lodge in the Green Park.

The remaining gates are Alexandra Gate and Prince of Wales's Gate,
erected since 1851; Victoria Gate, Grosvenor Gate, made in 1724 by
subscription of the neighbouring inhabitants; and Stanhope Gate,
opened about 1760. There are also numerous entrances for foot
passengers.
The present Park railing was put up after the Reform Riots in 1866 to
replace the one