A Sneak Peak At The Gardens Of Buckingham Palace

Usually reserved for the Queen’s annual garden party guests, the Summer of 2021 saw Buckingham Palace throw open the doors to its extensive gardens to the public for the first time.

The History of the Palace

Buckingham House, as it was originally called, was built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703. It was then purchased by King George III in 1761 as a house for his wife, Queen Charlotte.

The first monarch to use it as their official London residence was Queen Victoria on her accession to the throne in 1837.

The building has been modified and extended considerably since 1703. John Nash, under the instruction of King George IV, transformed it from a townhouse into a royal palace, fit for a king. Nash created the external façade in warm and mellow Bath stone as well as new North and South wings and a triumphal entrance: the Marble Arch.

The Marble Arch ended up being moved to its current location by Hyde Park when Edward Blore was commissioned to create the East wing. This is the public facing side that most will be familiar with. It was initially constructed of soft French stone but, due to deterioration caused predominantly by soot, was replaced by much hardier, Portland stone in 1913-14 by Sir Aston Webb.

The Riding School

The first interesting sight you come across when visiting is the Riding School. It was built in 1766 and designed by William Chambers, the architect behind Somerset House.

Most of the monarchs since have used the riding school and indeed all of Queen Victoria’s 9 children learnt to ride here.

This is also where the Queen’s carriage horses are trained. They will be ridden in the school whilst being tested with all sorts of loud bangs, crashes and distractions.

John Nash’s Façade

John Nash’s gorgeous Bath stone façade was a real highlight for me. I have always found the Portland stone of the East wing to be a bit imposing and slightly aloof.

I think Nash’s Western façade is much lovelier. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

It has lots of interesting architectural features such as 3 friezes, added by Blore (sculpted by Richard Westmacott), that had been originally intended for Nash’s Marble Arch. They depict great triumphs from Britain’s history.

The Terrace And Lawn

A large terrace is decorated with these dramatic Coade stone vases. I particularly enjoy the snakes curling around the top.

The terrace gives way to a large lawn, where the Queen’s garden parties, hosting 24,000 guests take place. It is also used as a helicopter pad. I can’t help but think of the James Bond section of the 2012 Olympic Opening ceremony…

The gardens are 42 acres in total, making it the largest private garden in the Capital.

The Trees and Wildlife

The naturalistic landscaping of the gardens is the work of William Townshend Aiton of Kew Gardens and John Nash.

They include a 156 metre herbaceous border, a wildflower meadow and rose garden (available to see on the tour). They also have over 1000 trees including oaks and plane trees.

It once had some rather more exotic residents. When Buckingham House was used as the home of George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, the grounds were used to house a menagerie, including an elephant and one of the first zebras to be seen in England! The zebra was known in the satirical press as, ‘The Queen’s Ass’.

Another highlight that unfortunately I did not see, is the Waterloo Vase, carved from a a single piece of Carrera marble, originally intended to be hewn into a vase for Napoleon. Find out more about it here.

The Lake

The central feature of the gardens is a beautiful lake. It was created in the 19th century and has an island in the middle, acting as a sanctuary for wildlife.

An alarming and potentially history-changing event happened on the lake on 9th February 1841.

One day before Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s one year anniversary, Prince Albert went ice-skating on the lake. The ice cracked and he fell under. Thankfully, Queen Victoria sprung into action and managed to pull him out!

In 2018, David Attenborough visited the Queen and pointed out a bit of a fundamental problem with one of her ornaments…

If you get the chance, the gardens are definitely worth visiting- if for nothing more than getting a different perspective on a familiar London landmark. You can see what events the Palace has on here.

Thank you for reading, for more of London’s hidden history, see below!