Moving Marble Arch

‘FROM one 19th Century fabrication to another – and Marble Arch may be on the move again.

Marble Arch is falling down…

The Times reports that the 180-year-old arch, currently marooned in the middle of a roundabout, could be transferred brick by brick to nearby Hyde Park.

Transport for London are apparently keen to improve pedestrian access between Oxford Street and central London’s largest green space.

And they believe the grand arch, built originally as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, could serve as an entrance to the park.

At the moment, the paper says, the arch can only be reached by braving a warren of dingy subways, often inhabited by beggars, under one of the capital’s busiest gyratories.

Peter Hendy, TfL’s director of surface transport, said the arch served no real purpose in its present location.

“It’s a fine monument and it ought to be in a place where it can be seen and admired,” he said.

English Heritage, which owns the Arch, is also keen to do something to improve access.

However, the Times says a move might also require the delicate renegotiation of a royal prerogative that states that only senior members of the Royal Family and the Royal Horse Artillery can pass through the arch’s central span.

Although there are doubts whether these days the span is big enough to accommodate Prince Charles and the mountain of self-pity he carries round with him…’

Posted: 28th, February 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink