Kensington Gardens in London joins on to the west end of Hyde Park. Unless you knew where to look you would have a job finding where one finished and the other one started. Kensington Gardens has always and managed to keep its self somewhat aloof from its eastern neighbour. But, before Kensington Palace arrived on the scene, there was Nottingham House. This was purchased in 1689 by William III and Queen Mary II. They converted it to Kensington Palace. He also had a coaching road built running south to north which helped to separate them. This is now a road called Rotten Row.
There is a story which talks of the difference between the Gardens and Hyde Park. If you were not someone of status, you had to stay in Hyde Park. Many of the poorer people would on Sunday afternoons see the more well-off members of society, parading around the gardens in their finest clothes. The young ladies would be arm in arm with their current beau. This would be especially hard on those young working women who would look with envy of what they were missing in life.
But, they had a way of joining them. What they did was put on their finest Sunday clothes and go to Kensington Barracks at the south end of the park. There they would pay a soldier in uniform to accompany them into Kensington Gardens. Together, they would also parade arm in arm and for a short time, these young ladies would feel part of high society. The charge I believe was five pence for a soldier. An officer came more expensive.
Today, it is much easier to reach the gardens. You can follow the Serpentine lake which changes name to the Long Water as it reaches Kensington Gardens. Once there, the gardens have a number of attractions to see. There is the Albert Memorial. It was built in 1872 and finally completed in 1876 with the installation of Albert’s statue. The structure is 140 feet high and is situated opposite the Albert Hall. Albert is holding a catalogue of the Great Exhibition of 1851 which was held in Hyde Park.
In addition, there is Kensington Palace itself which is open to the public. There are also statues of Peter Pan and of the explorer John Speke who discovered the source of the River Nile. There are also two water features. One is the Round Pond and the other is the memorial to Princess Diana which still attracts many visitors.
John Pullen 