THE MALL |
A triumphant road which is the site of some of the most memorable scenes of Royal celebration
Source WikiMedia (PD)
Advertisement
Commentary |
 |
Select arrow to play/pause, bar to rewind/forward
Highlights |
Admiralty Arch
Duke of York Column
Queen Victoria Memorial
Buckingham Palace
St James's Park
Citadel
Visitor Information |
The Mall extends from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace.
Scrapbook |
The Mall is the broad triumphant road running from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Bordered by St James’ Park and Green Park,
the Mall is a place of both ceremony and sporting achievement, as it
hosts the finish of the London Marathon as well as being the site of
some of the most memorable scenes of Royal celebration. The Mall is
used during visits by foreign heads of state and visiting dignitaries,
who are driven by ceremonial carriage along the Mall, which is decked
out in flags of the host and visiting nations, to the Palace.
A procession along the Mall
Entry to the Mall from Trafalgar Square is through Admiralty Arch,
a five arched gateway commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his
mother, Queen Victoria. Completed in 1912, it adjoins other Admiralty
buildings and allows traffic to pass through its arches. The central
arch is only used on state occasions for royal access.
Admiralty Arch
Did You Know?
A famous feature of Admiralty Arch is its "nose". On the inside wall of
the northernmost arch there is a small protrusion the size and shape of
a human nose. The nose would sit at waist height for anyone riding
through the arch on a horse. Tradition holds that it is Napoleon's nose
and it was rubbed by anyone riding through the arch.
The Royal Crown at the top of each flag pole along the Mall
The Mall was originally laid out by King Charles II as a course for the popular French game of Paille Maille,
a game similar to croquet. The game had originally been played along
nearby Pall Mall, to which the game gives its name, but the street
became so busy that it interfered with the games. It was not until the
reign of Queen Victoria that the Mall was redesigned as a grand
ceremonial route to Buckingham Place, the design copied from cities
such as Paris, Berlin and Washington DC.
Paille Maille illustrated in Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs, published 1891
Source WikiMedia (PD)
Did You Know?
Just to the south of Admiralty Arch you will find a solid brown fortress called the Citadel.
This is a bomb proof bunker built during the Second World War and
running beneath the Mall is a network of tunnels connecting it with
Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and various government offices.
The Citadel
In front of the gates of Buckingham Palace you will find the Queen Victoria Memorial,
placed there in 1911. It has a large statue of Queen Victoria
accompanied with bronze statues of the Angels of Justice, Truth and
Charity. The memorial has a strong nautical theme representing British
naval power.
Queen Victoria Memorial
All
logos are registered trademarks and copyright their owners. Items
marked (CC) are licenced using a Creative Commons licence by-sa. Items
marked (PD) are in the public domain and sourced from WikiMedia. All
other content is Copyright Pocket Places Ltd, unless stated otherwise.