Wellington Arch, one of London’s best-known landmarks, was built in 1825–7 as part of a campaign to improve the royal parks. At first it stood directly south of Piccadilly, facing the Hyde Park Screen; it was only moved to its present position in the 1880s to allow for road widening. Its original design was never completed, and a controversial equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington erected on top of it in 1846 was later taken down, eventually being replaced in 1911–12 with the sculpture that crowns it today.
