English Heritage

1816Celebration Fund

Parliament commits £300,000 for the commemoration of Britain's victory over Napoleon.

Early 1820sPalace Gates

King George IV plans the remodelling of Buckingham Palace – including a pair of grand outer gates at Hyde Park Corner.

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1825Design for an Arch

The Office of Woods and Forests instructs its architect, Decimus Burton, to design these gates. His proposal for a screen and an arch is approved by George IV.

1828Expensive Decoration

The screen is almost completed. Burton asks the Treasury for the funds to execute the planned sculptural decoration of the arch.

January 1830Funding Cut

With the redevelopment of Buckingham Palace costing far more than anticipated, the Treasury decides not to give Burton the funds. His arch is left mostly undecorated.

1838Wellington Plinth

The king approves the Duke of Rutland's scheme to erect a monument honouring Wellington on top of the incomplete 'Green Park Arch'.

1838-45Giant Statue

A controversial monument is chosen and created: a gigantic, 8.5 metre high equestrian statue of the Duke cast in bronze by Matthew Wyatt. Burton is horrified.

1846Monument Mockery

The enormous statue is erected for a trial period, attracting widespread derision for its peculiar proportions. It remains in place after an intervention from Wellington himself.

1883The Arch Moved

The arch is dismantled because of a road widening scheme, and reconstructed a short distance away, on its present site. Nobody wants the Wellington statue re-erected on top.

1885Second Chance

Wyatt's statue is unveiled at its new home in Aldershot. A new statue of Wellington is commissioned.

1888Multi-purpose Monument

The new statue, by Joseph Boehm, is erected - and remains in place, next to the arch, to this day. By this point, one pier of the arch is in use as a park-keeper's residence, the other as a police station.

1907The Quadriga

The royal household finds funding for a new statue for the arch: a splendid quadriga by Adrian Jones.

1912Royal Interest

Jones's quadriga is erected on top of the arch. Edward VII, who took a keen interest in its creation, dies in 1910, before it is completed.

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1950sPolice Leave

The police station, said to be the smallest in London, closes.

1960-2Roundabout Arch

The Park Lane widening scheme turns Hyde Park Corner into a huge roundabout, damaging the architectural setting of the arch.

1999-2000A New Gallery

English Heritage takes on responsibility for the long-term care of the Arch. £1.5 million is spent on repairs and converting the interior into an exhibition space.

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