Marble Arch, Triumphal arch in Westminster, London, United Kingdom
Marble Arch is a neoclassical monument built from white Carrara marble in the western center of London, near Hyde Park. Three passageways structure the freestanding monument, whose surface is decorated with relief carvings and Corinthian columns.
John Nash designed the arch in 1827 as the state entrance to Buckingham Palace's cour d'honneur. Construction stopped in 1830 after George IV's death, and Edward Blore completed it in 1833, cutting Nash's attic storey and its sculpture. Dismantled in 1847, it was rebuilt by Thomas Cubitt at Cumberland Gate, Hyde Park, in 1851.
The name refers to the Carrara marble used to build the arches, and the structure now marks a busy junction at the western edge of the West End. Pedestrians cross the roads surrounding the monument, while traffic flows in several lanes around it.
The junction connects Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, with the Underground station Marble Arch located directly beside it. Pedestrian crossings lead to all sides of the monument, though traffic is often heavy.
Three small rooms in the attic storey served as a police station from 1851 until at least 1968, staffed first by the Royal Parks Constabulary and later by the Metropolitan Police. One officer posted there in the early 1860s was Samuel Parkes, who won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,364 contributors worldwide.
