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Albert Memorial

Name of monument  Albert Memorial
Description   One of London's most ornate monuments. Includes: a gilded statue of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria; groups of sculptures representing industrial arts and sciences and the continents of Europe, Asia, African and America; and a frieze of 169 leading musicians, poets, painters, sculptors and architects.
Location   Albert Memorial Road, opposite the Royal Albert Hall.
History\background   Commemorates the death of Prince Albert in 1861 from typhoid.
Designer   George Gilbert Scott.
Dates   Unveiled 1872.
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   Funded by public subscription. The memorial shows Albert holding the catalogue of the Great Exhibition, which he inspired and helped to organise. Tours of the Memorial at 2pm and 3pm on the first Sunday of the month March-December.

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Coalbrookdale Gates

Name of monument  Coalbrookdale Gates
Description   Bronze-painted cast iron gates.
Location   South Carriage Drive.
History\background   Made by the Coalbrookdale Company for the 1851 Great Exhibition. Installed at the entrance to Lancaster Walk in 1852 and moved to present location during construction of the Albert Memorial.
Designer   Design by Charles Crookes; sculpture by John Bell.
Dates   Installed in present position in 1871.
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   Damaged by a bomb in World War II.

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Elfin Oak

Name of monument  Elfin Oak
Description   Sculpture made from the hollow trunk of an oak tree and carved with figures of fairies, elves and animals.
Location   Alongside the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground.
History\background   Made from the trunk of an ancient oak tree growing in Richmond Park. Given by Lady Fortescue in response to an appeal to improve facilities in the Royal Parks.
Designer   Ivor Innes.
Dates   1930
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   The inside cover of Pink Floyd's 1969 album Ummagumma has a picture of David Gilmour in front of the Elfin Oak. Spike Milligan raised money for its restoration in 1996. Declared a Grade II listed structure in 1997.

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King William III statue

Name of monument  King William III statue
Description   Bronze statue of King William III.
Location   South Gate to Kensington Palace.
History\background   Presented to King Edward VII for the British nation by his nephew, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Designer   H Bauke.
Dates   Installed 1907.
Maintenance\care   Historic Royal Palaces.
Interesting facts   King William III chose to live at Kensington Palace because the air was cleaner than at Whitehall and better for his asthma. The statue's pedestal was designed by Sir Aston Webb, who designed the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.

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Peter Pan statue

Name of monument  Peter Pan statue
Description   Bronze sculpture of Peter Pan, playing his pipe and surrounded by fairies and woodland animals.
Location   Next to the Long Water, between the Italian Gardens and the Serpentine Bridge.
History\background   Paid for and installed secretly by J M Barrie, the creator of the Peter Pan story.
Designer   George Frampton.
Dates   1912
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   J M Barrie chose the location for the statue saying it was Peter's landing point in the story when he arrived in Kensington Gardens. Some MPs disliked the statue because they thought it was advertising for the Peter Pan story.

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Physical Energy statue

Name of monument  Physical Energy statue
Description   Huge bronze of a man on horseback.
Location   Junction of Lancaster Walk and Inverness Walk, between the Round Pond and the Long Water.
History\background   Based on an equestrian monument that Watts made in 1870 of Hugh Lupus, an ancestor of the Duke of Westminster. In 1902 Watts made a cast for the memorial to Cecil Rhodes in Cape Town and another for Kensington Gardens.
Designer   George Frederick Watts.
Dates   1907
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   Watts described the sculpture: "This is a symbol of something done for the time, while the rider looks out for the next ting to do."

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Queen Anne's Alcove

Name of monument  Queen Anne's Alcove
Description   Classical-style covered seating area.
Location   At the end of the Italian Gardens between Marlborough Gate and Buckhill Lodge.
History\background   Designed for the boundary of Queen Anne's formal garden at Kensington Palace. Queen Anne's coat of arms is just below the roof.
Designer   Sir Christopher Wren.
Dates   1705
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   A London builder paid for it to be moved to its present position in 1867. It was once used as a gardeners' storeroom.

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Queen Caroline's Temple

Name of monument  Queen Caroline's Temple
Description   Classical style summer house.
Location   Overlooking the Long Water, east of Lancaster Walk.
History\background   Built for Queen Caroline, for whom the Long Water was created.
Designer   Attributed to William Kent.
Dates   c1734
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   Some of the graffiti inside dates back to 1821 when the park was first open every day to visitors. It was converted into a park keeper's home but restored in 1976.

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Queen Victoria statue

Name of monument  Queen Victoria statue
Description   Marble sculpture of Queen Victoria.
Location   Overlooking The Broad Walk, outside Kensington Palace Garden.
History\background   Presented by the Kensington Golden Jubilee Memorial Executive Committee.
Designer   Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's daughter.
Dates   1893
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   Shows the Queen, aged 18, in her coronation robes in 1837.

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Speke Monument

Name of monument  Speke Monument
Description   Granite obelisk.
Location   Near the junction of Lancaster Walk and Budges Walk.
History\background   Installed by the Speke Memorial Committee in memory of John Hanning Speke, the explorer who was the first Eurpean to discover Lake Victoria and led expeditions to the source of the Nile.
Designer   Philip Hardwick.
Dates   1866
Maintenance\care   The Royal Parks.
Interesting facts   The monument was paid for by public subscription and sponsored by the President of the Royal Geographical Society, which had paid for two of Speke's expeditions.

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