Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In early March 1814, Fanny and Jane drove in Hyde Park and Jane was much entertained,
although somewhat put out not to be seen by a single acquaintance.
Before you reach the Serpentine, cut through the gardens to follow the road along the
northern bank and over the bridge.
The Westbourne, one of London's 'lost' rivers, flows down from Hampstead and was
dammed in 1730 to form the Serpentine. In 1816 Harriet Shelley, wife of the poet, drowned
herself here.
On the right, as the road turns to cross the bridge, is a building mentioned in
The Picture
of London
as:
... a powder magazine and a guardroom, both of brick, the sight of which if they must be there for the
sake of any convenience, ought to be obscured by planting ... Hyde Park is used for the field days of the
horse and foot guards … and for some martial reviews; which however is not mentioned as an advantage
to the beauty of the place, as these exercises destroy the verdure of the park.
Kensington Gardens Walking Dresses from
La Belle Assemblée
, July
1808.
One imagines that Lydia Bennett, with her penchant for men in scarlet coats, would have
found this a most attractive sight.
Once over the bridge we are in Kensington Gardens, once the private park belonging to
the palace. The lake on the right is The Long Water.
Make your way across the Gardens to the Round Pond and beyond it to the Broad Walk,
a very popular promenade in front of the palace, as described in
The Picture of London
:
One of the most delightful scenes belonging to this great metropolis, and that which, perhaps, most dis-
plays its opulence and splendour, is formed by the company in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, in
fine weather, chiefly on Sundays in winter and spring … Numbers of people of fashion, mingled with a
great multitude of well-dressed persons of various ranks, crowd the walk for many hours together … No
servant in livery, nor women with pattens, nor persons carrying bundles, are admitted into the gardens.
