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Kensington Gardens by TxIIxt TxIIxT –

Top Ten Interesting Facts about Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens was once a private property of Kensington Palace during the time of King William II and Queen Mary II. The then Palace is the home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The garden is Grade one listed on Historic parks and gardens of England. Kensington Gardens are one of the four Royal gardens in England alongside St James Park, Regent’s Park,  Greenwich Park, and Hyde Park.

The gardens cover an area of over 265 acres of land. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and are immediate to the West of Hyde Park. In the article are the top ten interesting facts about Kensington Gardens.

1. Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Gardens

Kensington Palace by Edwardix –

Queen Alexandria Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens. She was the only child and daughter of Prince Edward Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Queen Victoria spent her entire time in the palace until she was 18 when she became the queen.

She did not continue living in her childhood home instead, she moved to Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria defended the palace against destruction when questions on whether to destroy the palace or not arose in the 19th century. 

3. The garden has amazing historical features

Princess Diana Memorial Playground by Caroline Hampton –

Many of the original features surrounding Kensington gardens are surviving together with the Kensington Palace and other public buildings.

A bronze statue of Peter Pan by George Frampton stands on a pedestal covered with climbing rabbits, squirrels, and mice. The garden is also home to the Princess Diana memorial playground, princess of Wales.

There is the Albert Memorial building at the southeast corner of Kensington Grounds. The Albert Memorial and the Italian Gardens were commissioned by Queen Victoria during a series of improvements. There is also the Queen Calorine’s temple, The Serpentine Gallery, and Speke’s Monument.

4. Possession of Kensington Gardens by the Royal family was first in 1689

Kensington Garden was bought by King William III because of his asthmatic condition. The palace then was a two-story building and so Sir Christopher Wren, one of the most celebrated English architects, astronomers, and mathematicians, the designer of 54 London Churches, was tasked to renovate the palace into the today’s magnificent palace.

Despite that, the king was running from chills at Whitehall, he did die from chills and fog in the Kensington Garden in 1702.

5. The Kensington Gardens’ war effort during the two World Wars

During World War I, people were encouraged to turn their gardens into vegetable patches to support the war effort. In Kensington Gardens, this was different because during World War I the garden was turned into a small slice of the Western Front to help the soldiers to get to grips with the trench construction.

During World War II, The gardens were equipped with sandbags, anti-aircraft guns, and trenches to help defend the capital. despite the steep preparation for the war, Kensington Palace was hit by an incendiary bomb damaging the Queen’s apartments together with the state apartments. 

6. Kensington one apartment is a residential development with apartments

The 97 apartment nine-story building with two underground floors was completed in 2015. It is located between Victoria Road and De Vere Gardens. It was designed by David Chipperfield Architects with Sir Robert McAlpine its main contractor.

7. Kensington Gardens was the private property of the Royal family

King Henry III established the park in 1536 when he took land from Westminster Abbey. It was enclosed as a deer park and remained a private hunting ground. James  I later partially opened the park to the public and installed a patrol ranger in the park to manage the activities that took place in the deer park.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Kensington Gardens was annexed from Hyde Park by the Royal families for private benefits. The Serpentine lake was built from the off flow of water from River Westbourne. George II took the Gardens for his wife Queen Caroline of Brunswick.

8. Kensington Gardens appearance in movies

Apart from partly opening the Kensington Gardens to the public, also the entertainment sector is welcome to shoot video clips for their movies in the gardens.

A total of 6 movies have been shot in the Gardens. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of Apes was shot in 1894, A Fish called Wanda- 1988, Damage- 1992, Finding Neverland-2004, Bridget Johns: The Edge of Reason- 2004, and The Postcard Killings 2020.

9. Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens

Peter Pan Statue by Rodhullandemu –

Peter Pan Statue is a life-sized of an 8-year-old boy topped on a conical form like a tree stump, blowing a flute statue on a pedestal covered with climbing mice, squirrels, and rabbits. It is about 4.3 m high. The statue is an inspiration for Barrie’s 1902 The Little White Bird.

The statue was commissioned by Barrie to Sir George Frampton who later made it in bronze and gave it to Kensington Gardens, which then was a public park. Many questions arose criticizing the advertisement of private works in public parks though, the statue was featured in 1928 and got listed on Grade II buildings in 1970.

10.  The Albert Memorial Building

Albert Memorial Building by David Dixon –

The Memorial building is stationed in Kensington Gardens directly North of Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert. It was Grade I listed in 1970. It is 77m tall and takes the form of a pavilion. it was built by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic Revival style. it was opened in 1872 by Queen Victorian while Albert’s statue was erected in 1876.

Kensington Gardens is quite a place to visit, full of amazing historical features, plenty of public parks around it, and big hotels not forgetting residential homes for sale are also offered at reasonable prices. Be sure to visit throughout the 7 days of the week all around the year except 24 and 26 December annually.