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Canada Gate
Name of monument | Canada Gate | |
Description | A screen of gilded wrought iron gates between two Portland stone pillars. | |
Location | Entrance to Green Park facing the Queen Victoria Memorial. | |
History\background | Commissioned in 1905 as part of the memorial to Queen Victoria, who died in 1901. Presented to London by Canada. | |
Designer | The Bromsgrove Guild, artists associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. | |
Dates | Installed 1908. | |
Maintenance\care | The Royal Parks. | |
Interesting facts | The metalwork includes the crests of Canadian provinces. |
Canada Memorial
Name of monument | Canada Memorial | |
Description | Modern memorial fountain comprising two wedges of red granite, over which water flows, inset with bronze maple leaves, the national symbol of Canada. | |
Location | North west of Canada Gate. | |
History\background | Unveiled by HRH The Queen in 1994 in memory of one million Canadians who served with British forces during the two World Wars. | |
Designer | Pierre Granche. | |
Dates | 1994. | |
Maintenance\care | The Veteran Affairs Department of the Government of Canada. | |
Interesting facts | A narrow walkway, which divides the memorial, faces the direction of the Canadian port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, from where many Canadian service personnel sailed for Europe. |
Dominion Gates
Name of monument | Dominion Gates | |
Description | Stone columns and wrought iron gates presented by the dominions of Canada and Australia, surrounding the Queen Victoria Memorial. | |
Location | Canada Gate (columns and gates) on The Green Park boundary, see above; South and West Africa Gate (columns only) on the Mall; Australia Gate (columns and side gates only) on the south side near Birdcage Walk; Newfoundland (outlier column) on the northern edge near Canada Gate; and Malay States (outlier column) on the southern edge. | |
History\background | Installed in 1908 as part of Sir Aston Webb's Queen Victoria Memorial. | |
Designer | Statuary on the pillars by Alfred Drury and Derwent Wood; metal gates by the Bromsgrove Guild (see Canada Gates). | |
Dates | 1908 | |
Maintenance\care | The Royal Parks. | |
Interesting facts | The Mall was widened to accommodate the memorial scheme. |
Memorial Gates
Name of monument | Memorial Gates | |
Description | Four pillars of Portland stone carved with the names India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Africa, Caribbean and Kingdom of Nepal. Between the piers are a domed pavilion and two stone benches. | |
Location | North west end of Constitution Hill at the junction with Hyde Park Corner. | |
History\background | The first permanent national recognition of the contribution and sacrifice made in the two World Wars by nearly five million people from the Indian Sub-Continent, Africa and the Caribbean. | |
Designer | Liam O'Connor. | |
Dates | Inaugurated by HRH The Queen in 2002. | |
Maintenance\care | The Royal Parks. | |
Interesting facts | The pillars are topped with bronze urn and gas flames, which are lit on special occasions such as Remembrance Sunday, Armistice Day and Commonwealth Day. The names of holders of Victoria and George Crosses are engraved on the inside of the pavilion and the major campaigns are listed on the benches. Supported with a Lottery grant of over £1 million. |
Queen Victoria Memorial
Name of monument | Queen Victoria Memorial | |
Description | Comprises the Dominion Gates (see above), Memorial Gardens and the vast central monument to Queen Victoria. The monument is 25m (82ft) high and uses 2,300 tones of white Carrara marble. As well as Victoria, there are statues representing courage, constancy, victory, charity, truth and motherhood. | |
Location | At the south west end of The Mall, opposite Buckingham Palace. | |
History\background | Commemorates the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. | |
Designer | Central monument by Sir Thomas Brock; overall design by Sir Aston Webb. | |
Dates | Assembled 1906-24. Formal unveiling in 1911 by King George V. | |
Maintenance\care | The Royal Parks. | |
Interesting facts | King George V spontaneously knighted Thomas Brock at the unveiling ceremony. Among the guests was Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, with whom Britain would be at war three years later. |
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