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Kensington Gardens

The gardens of the Kensington Palace cover around 111 hectares or 275

acres and border Hyde Park  on the east. Its main attraction is the

Kensington Palace one of several royal !alaces in "ondon.

History

Kensington #ardens

The history of Kensington #ardens

started in 1$%& 'hen King (illiam III

and )ary II bought the *ottingham

house in Kensington. The house 'asturned into a !alace by +hristo!her

(ren and the five hectares ,12 acres-

large garden 'as enlarged by ueen

/nne !artly by ac0uiring forty hectares ,1 acres- of Hyde Park in 175.

The garden 'as constantly redesigned es!ecially by ueen /nne and later

 by ueen +aroline. ueen /nne added the rangery a red3brick building

north of the Kensington Palace used for housing !lants during 'inter time.

Present Form

The !resent form of the Kensington

#ardens can be attributed to ueen

+aroline 'ife of King #eorge II.

4he added the ound Pond andcommissioned the 4er!entine and "ong

(ater a large lake at the eastern end of the Kensington #ardens created

from a string of !onds. T'o summerhouses 'ere added to the gardens one

of them 3 the ueen6s Tem!le 3 still eists. ueen 8ictoria added the

Italian gardens and the /lbert )emorial. 

Sights & Attractions

Kensington #ardens is very !o!ular for 'alking and 9ogging. :arly

morning you6ll encounter !lenty of !eo!le 'alking their dog. There are

0uite a fe' sights in the !ark several of 'hich are on many tourists6

itinerary including Kensington Palace

the /lbert )emorial and the statue

of Peter Pan.

Kensington Palace

The most famous attraction in Kensington #ardens

is 'ithout a doubt Kensington Palace

the former

home of Princess ;iana and the birth!lace of

ueen 8ictoria.

The red brick !alace 'as originally built in 1$5

as a mansion by the :arl of *ottingham. It became

a !alace in 1$%& 'hen it 'as bought by King

(illiam III. Today the !alace is still a royalresidence 3 !rince (illiam and Kate )iddleton

live here 3 but you can visit !arts of the !alace

including the ueen6s a!artments and the oyal

+eremonial ;ress +ollection.In front of the east side of Kensington Palace is a marble statue of a young

ueen 8ictoria created by her o'n daughter Princess "ouise and

unveiled in 1%&< in the !resence of the 0ueen.

Albert Memorial

/t the south end of the Kensington #ardens you6ll find one of "ondon6smost s!ectacular monuments= the /lbert )emorial.

The neo3#othic monument over fifty meters ,175ft- tall 'as built in 1%7$

in honor of Prince /lbert the consort of ueen 8ictoria.

The monument is designed like a huge medieval shrine and is lavishly

decorated 'ith reliefs scul!tures and ornaments. >elo' the !innacle is a

gilded statue of the !rince 'ho died in 1%$1 at the age of forty3one.

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Statue of Peter Pan

The statue of the famous fictional character Peter

Pan is another !o!ular monument in Kensington

#ardens. It is situated to'ards the north end of the

gardens near the "ong (ater. Peter Pan is sho'n

 !laying the !i!es? he stands on a large tree stum!

surrounded by small animals. ight belo' his feet isTinker >ell the fairy.

The monument 'as commissioned and !aid for by

the creator of Peter Pan the 4cottish novelist @. ).

>arrie. >arrie met the boy 'ho ins!ired him to

create the story of Peter Pan here in Kensington #ardens.

Italian Gardens

@ust north of the statue of Peter Pan near Hyde Park 

 lie the ornate Italian

#ardens a 'ater garden 'ith four octagonal !onds symmetrically

arranged around a central marble fountain. :ach !ond has its o'n 'ater

 9ets. The garden is enclosed by a beautiful balustrade decorated 'ith

numerous reliefs stone statues and urns.The Pum! House at the north side of the Italian #ardens is designed in the

style of an Italian villa. n the east side is a bronAe statue of :d'ard

@enner an :nglish !hysician 'ho introduced small!o vaccinations. The

statue 'as originally erected in Trafalgar 40uare but 'as moved here in

1%$2.

Physical Energy

It6s hard to miss the 6Physical :nergy6monument an e0uestrian statue located

near the center of the Kensington

#ardens at the intersection of several

 !aths. The statue 'as installed here in

1&7 and is a co!y of the main statue of

the +ecil hodes )emorial in +a!e To'n 4outh /frica. The statue 'as

created by #eorge Brederic (atts a >ritish scul!tor.

The Arch

(hen you look to'ards the 'est from

the :nergy statue you can see anothermore modern monument entitled the

6The /rch6. The si3meter high

monument built from large travertine

 blocks 'as created by the :nglish

scul!tor Henry )oore. It 'as erected in 1&% at a !rominent s!ot near the

"ong (ater.

More Sights

There6s !lenty more to see in Kensington #ardens including another

monument a granite obelisk that commemorates the e!lorer @ohn

Hanning 4!eke 'ho discovered "ake 8ictoria and the !resumed source of

the *ile.

@ust east of  Kensington Palace you6ll find the

sunken garden a beautiful garden created in 1&&

and based on a Tudor garden in Ham!ton +ourt.Burther east is the ound Pond a favorite 'ith

remote controlled boat enthusiasts.

Binally the adorable To !ears Fountain 'ith a

scul!ture of t'o bears hugging each other can be

found near the Italian #ardens.