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ALBERT MEMORIAL KENSINGTON GARDENS, LONDON SW7 Telephone 020 7495 0916 |
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Located at Kensington Gardens opposite Royal Albert Hall, on the west side of Hyde Park, the Albert Memorial is one of the great sculptural achievements of the victorian era, and for sheer scale, opulance and complexity is hard to match. An elaborate national memorial by George Gilbert Scott to commemorate the Prince Consort. Finally completed in 1876, fifteen years after his death, the figure of the Consort sits on a pyramid of 868 brick aches and has above it a lofty Gothic canopy supported by granite columns. The memorial is undergoing extensive conservation by English Heritage, explained in an exhibition and video in the Visitor Centre. "English Heritage Photographic Library". The beloved husband and consort of Queen Victoria, Albert died of typhoid at the age of 41. The royal couple had been happily married for 21 years and had nine children. George Gilbert Scott was personally selected by Queen Victoria to design the national memorial to Prince Albert. The Albert Memorial is without doubt one of the greatest sculptural achievements of the Victorian era. The memorial comprises a large statue of Albert seated within a vast shrine, which is surrounded by 169 carved figures. This is a truly magnificent piece of Victorian sculpture and should not be missed by visitors interested in the rich history of England's capital. Standing 175 feet (55 metres) high, the memorial is loosely based on a medieval market cross, with a black and gilded spire and a multi-coloured marble canopy, mosaics, enamels and wrought iron. Each pillar took eight men about 20 weeks to finish and polish, and the Albert Memorial was noted at the time of its completion as being one of the most costly works in granite of the period. At the centre is a larger than life glided statue of Prince Albert holding a copy of the catalogue of the 1851 Great Exhibition. A superbly crafted marble frieze around the base depicts 168 leading artistic and literary figures from history. The steps around the memorial are guarded by four groups symbolizing Europe, Africa, America and Asia. In the corners are Commerce, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Engineering. The grandest of all our London monuments to departed worth is the Memorial erected at Kensington in memory of Prince Albert. Noble in its plan and dimensions, built of varied and valuable material, and enriched with appropriate statuary, it is at once an adornment to the great city, and a national memento of a good and wise man. Most of our public monuments have - been erected to men of the sword, and commemorate the achievements in arms of our naval heroes and military chiefs. The Albert Memorial is reared to one who won fame in the ranks of peace, and whose glory it was that he used his exalted position for the highest ends, upholding good morality by his example and influence, and furthering the progress of the nation in every way. This Memorial to him is well worth a visit, and a leisurely examination of its artistic beauties. The base of the monument is formed by three quadrangular flights of steps, ayranged like part of a wide-spreading pyramid; at the four corners are large masses of carved granite, on which stand groups of marble statuary, gigantic in proportions, and representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Above the steps rises the pedestal of the Memorial, elaborately adorned with nearly 200 figures in high relief and of life size. These are full-length portraits, or statues, - of celebrated painters and sculptors, poets and other writers, men of science, and you will be much interested if you can spend a few minutes in trying to identify these worthies. At the four corners of this podium, or pedestal, we find some more groups of allegorical statuary; representing Commerce, Manufactures, Agriculture, and Engineering. Then comes the gigantic statue of Prince Albert, richly gilt, and resting on a pedestal fifteen feet high. He is sitting on a chair of state, and robed as a Knight of the Garter. Over him is a richly decorated Gothic canopy, about thirty feet square, supported by groups of polished granite columns, and surmounted by a beautiful spire, highly ornamented up to the very top, where a cross completes this marvellous piece of art workmanship. The total height of the Memorial is 176 feet. By the end of the 20th century the Albert Memorial was seriously in need of repair. Between 1994 - 98 English Heritage undertook a £11 million restoration programme. This included the re-gilding of Albert's statue, the original gilding was removed during World War I, and the replacement of lost details in the statuary and mosaics to preserve their meaning. The memorial, returned its gleaming, original, splendour, was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1998. Guided tours, which allow visitors to examine the memorial in closer detail, can be booked on 0871 560 7901. Admission charge for guided tours Travel: Knightsbridge Underground 5 minute walk to the South East Lancaster Gate Underground 6 minute walk to the North West Marble Arch Underground 6 minute walk to the North East Hyde Park Corner Underground 7 minute walk to the South East Paddington Underground 8 minute walk to the North West Parking: Mayfair Car Park 5 minute walk to the North East Knightsbridge Green NCP 5 minute walk to the South East Pavilion Road NCP 6 minute walk to the South East Marble Arch Car Parks 7 minute walk to the North East Union Car Parks 7 minute walk to the South West London Hotels near Albert Memorial with online reservations: Holiday Inn Kensington Hotel, 100 Cromwell Road, Kensington, London SW7 4ER Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London Kensington, 4-18 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4LH Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt Hotel, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BT Holiday Inn Kensington Forum Hotel, 97 Cromwell Road, Kensington, London SW7 4DN Jurys Kensington Hotel, Queens Gate, South Kensington, London, SW7 5LR More hotels |
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