Wellington Arch

The Wellington Arch, also known as the Constitution Arch or (originally) as the Green Park Arch, is a Grade I-listed triumphal arch by Decimus Burton that forms a centrepiece of Hyde Park Corner in central London, the road junction near the south-eastern corner of Hyde Park. The Arch stands on a large green-space traffic island with crossings for pedestrian access. A ceremonial byway running between Hyde Park and Constitution Hill still passes under the arch and may be used for official processions. The arch was built between 1826 and 1830 directly opposite Burton's Ionic Screen as part of a majestic approach route from Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace. In 1882–1883 it was taken down and rebuilt a short distance away, facing west, at its current site at the top of the Constitution Hill. As a result of a moratorium on expenditure from 1828, all the intended sculpture was omitted from the arch when it was built. A public subscription was raised in 1837 for an equestrian statue of the 1st Duke of Wellington, to be placed on the arch. In 1846, over the vehement objections of Burton, a colossal equestrian statue by the sculptor Matthew Cotes Wyatt was installed on the arch, leading to the name by which the arch is known. When the arch was moved a short distance and rebuilt in 1882-83, Matthew Cotes Wyatt's colossal statue was not reinstated. It was held in storage in London until 1885, when it was sent to Aldershot and re-erected. Since 1912 the sculpture Peace descending on the Quadriga of War by Adrian Jones, a bronze of the Goddess of Victory Nike riding a quadriga (an ancient four-horse chariot), has surmounted the arch.