Marble Arch is a triumphal arch located, unsurprisingly, in Marble Arch, London. Designed by the architect John Nash in 1827, the monument was meant to be a grandiose gateway to Buckingham Palace and a symbol of British victories in the Napoleonic Wars.
While work was underway King George IV died. Marble Arch was originally designed to include many sculptures with King George riding triumphant on horseback at the top of the imposing structure. However following the king’s death, John Nash was fired for spending too much on the project and the architect Edward Blore was hired to finish it in a way that didn’t burn away at the state’s coffers. Marble Arch was eventually completed without King George at the summit and with much fewer sculptures. The project was completed in 1833 and was moved to its current location at the north-east tip of Hyde Park in 1851.
In the summer of 2021, commissioned by Westminster City Council at a cost of £6 million, the Marble Arch Mound was constructed. The Mound was a 25 metre artificial hill that visitors could climb to take in scenic views of surrounding Hyde Park and Oxford Street. The Mound was dismantled in January 2022.