Completed in 1830 to commemorate British victory in the Napoleonic Wars and subsequent peace with France, the Wellington Arch stands on a island at the bottom of Park Lane. The monument has a unique roof terrace giving a bird’s-eye view of Buckingham Palace Garden, Green Park, Park Lane and Knightsbridge! Originally, the arch was topped with a giant equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, who led the British at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellington was subsequently replaced by the Angel of Peace – which astonishingly remains Europe’s largest bronze statue to this day. And the entire structure was moved 100 metres south east in 1883 to make way for the expansion of Piccadilly!
Photos (c) Essential London
