Something that has always puzzled me on trips to London is why did someone build Marble Arch when it doesn’t appear to lead anywhere. The structure suggests that it should be a grand entrance and it turns out that is fairly close to the truth.
In 1828, John Nash constructed Marble Arch on The Mall as a grand entranceway to Buckingham Palace. At the time the palace was a 3 sided courtyard design, with the front we see today being added later.It served this purpose for many years although a popular idea that the arch was a bit narrow for the monarch’s official horse drawn coach have proven to be incorrect.
The arch actually has 3 rooms inside it including a small policebox which was used until 1950.
When the front of the courtyard was added in 1851, Marble Arch was moved to it’s present location on the corner of Hyde Park. There have been rumours that it might be moved again, but for the moment it sits in the middle of a traffic island as a curiosity and famous landmark.
More links:
Things to see around Marble Arch
Hotel accommodation in Marble Arch
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[...] palace was much smaller then and was remodelled several times, and is even the reason why Marble Arch sits on its own as that was originally intended as a gateway to the palace. The palace today is the official [...]