Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (London, England) : Serpentine Gallery (housed in a 1934 tea pavilion), south of Serpentine Bridge, view from rear with 1991 additions

Creator:

Bridgeman, Charles, d. 1738

Published/Created:

London, England, United Kingdom
South boundry, Kensington Road, north boundry, Bayswater Road
begun 1536

Physical Description:

350 ac (area, Hyde Park); 270 ac (area,Kensington Gardens)

Materials:

stone; brick; paving material; plant material

Notes:

Largest park area in central London and two of the Royal Parks of London. The park is divided in two by the Serpentine; the western half is Kensington Gardens. The two parks are contiguous; although often still assumed to be part of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens has been technically separate since 1728, when Queen Caroline made a division between the two. The combined area of 630 acres is larger than the Principality of Monaco (480 acres), though smaller than New York City's Central Park (840 acres). The park was the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851, for which the Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton. The park started as a royal deer park under Henry VIII in 1536. In 1689 William III laid out a drive on the south side that still exists, known as Rotten Row. The first coherent landscaping was undertaken by Charles Bridgeman for Queen Caroline. It was completed in 1733; the Serpentine (1731) was formed by damming the little Westbourne river. The Serpentine is divided from the Long Water by a bridge designed by George Rennie (1826).

Variant Titles:

Hyde Park

Topics:

Architecture -- Britain -- 16th century -- (YVRC)
Architecture -- Britain -- 18th century -- (YVRC)
Hyde Park (London, England) (LC)

Period/Style:

Eighteenth century

Culture:

British

Accession Number:

1A2-E-L-HP-A20

Coordinates:

+51.508611-0.163611

Genre:

landscape architecture (AAT)
open spaces: parks (recreation areas) (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

open spaces; gardens; open spaces; recreation areas; parks (recreation areas) cityscape; landscape; recreation and games; festivals; City planning; Great Exhibition (1851 : London, England); parks (recreation areas)

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Addition Module Seven

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
ca. 1990-2010

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4349

OID:

10471882

PID:

digcoll:1793417