A restful sight at Marble Arch
The north-east corner of Hyde Park is a spot that has seen its share of uproar. On Sundays, any eccentric or hothead with firm opinions and a loud voice can harangue the public at Speaker’s Corner. Countless criminals were hanged on Tyburn gallows. Now the name of the place derives from a triumphal arch of Carrara marble. It was designed by John Nash as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, but had to be moved when the palace was extended in 1851 – the famous balcony for royal waving marks the approximate site. In contrast to public executions and the Sunday shouting, a bronze sculpture of a horse’s head now imparts a soothing mood to Marble Arch.
The sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green has loved the form of a horse’s head since he was young. His first inspiration was a work in the British Museum, the horse of the moon goddess Selene from the sculptures on the pediment of the Parthenon. Today Fiddian-Green’s outsized horses’ heads have been installed in many different countries. »Horse at Water«, placed between a 1960s fountain and Nash’s arch in 2010, is ten metres high and weighs 17 tons. In what appears to be a miraculous balancing act, it rises above a flat metal base that represents the surface of the water from which the horse is drinking.
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Address North-east corner of Hyde Park, W1H 7AL | Public Transport Marble Arch (Central Line) | Tip The Serpentine Gallery and Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens (Tue–Sun 10am–6pm) put on changing exhibitions of contemporary art. Each year a renowned architect is invited to design a temporary Serpentine Pavilion.
Traffic thunders all around, as Marble Arch is one big roundabout for buses, but the horse’s head is a perfect motif to make a transition from the surrounding bustle to Hyde Park. Horses have a close historic connection with the park: Hyde Park Barracks is the base of the Household Cavalry regiment, which rides daily to the changing of the guard on Horse Guards’ Parade and has ceremonial functions at royal occasions. The park was once the place for fine ladies to show themselves in their carriages, and the broad track called Rotten Row that forms the southern boundary of the park is still used by riders.
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