The Grand Jubilee of 1814 was a public holiday and celebration in the United Kingdom held on 1 August 1814. The event marked the 100th anniversary of the accession of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

, the first king of the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...

, the 16th anniversary of

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

's victory at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

and the recent signing of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, bringing an end (briefly) to the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Celebrations centred on the

Royal Parks The Royal Parks of London are lands that were originally used for the recreation, mostly hunting, of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown, now managed by The Royal Parks Limited, a charity which manages ...

in London. At

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous c ...

a new Chinese-style bridge (with

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

) and a Temple of Concorde were built and a fireworks display was held. In

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

a naval re-enactment took place on

The Serpentine The Serpentine (also known as the Serpentine River) is a recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strict ...

and in

Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Maryleb ...

a naval arch and royal booth were constructed. The event was billed as "the largest fair, for every kind of amusement, that was ever known in this or any other country" and government employees were granted a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

Occasion

The jubilee was held to mark the centenary of the accession of

, the first king of the

, who came to the throne on 1 August 1714 (in the

Old Style calendar Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

). The event also marked the 16th anniversary of the first day of the

and was a celebration of the recent signing of the

that brought peace with France after more than a decade of the

. It was advertised variously as the Jubilee, the Grand Jubilee, the National Jubilee, the Universal Jubilee and the Grand National Jubilee. To mark the occasion a

was granted to government employees.

St James's Park

The event was centred on London's Royal Parks, which were lit with lanterns during the night.

The Prince Regent George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

's personal architect John Nash was commissioned to design a Chinese-style bridge and pagoda across the canal in

. A "Temple of Discorde" was erected in

which, by means of a mechanism designed by

Sir William Congreve Lieutenant General Sir William Congreve, 1st Baronet (4 July 1742 – 30 April 1814) was a British military officer who improved artillery strength through gunpowder experiments. Personal life William Congreve was born in Stafford on 4 July 1 ...

and under cover of firework display, transformed into a "Temple of Concorde". During the fireworks display aeronaut

Windham William Sadler Windham William Sadler (1796 – 30 September 1824) was a balloonist born in Ireland. His father was aviation pioneer James Sadler and, after an education in engineering, Sadler followed in his father's footsteps. He made an ascent in London du ...

ascended in a hot air balloon and distributed favours and programmes onto the crowd below. Also a sign reading "PEACE" was illuminated. During the jubilee night Nash's pagoda set alight and at least one man, James Taylor, was killed.

Elsewhere

Scene on the Serpentine, Hyde Park, on the night of the Grand Jubilee

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

held "grand entertainment" at Buckingham House on the day of the jubilee, with new ornaments being provided for the occasion. A flotilla of boats paraded down the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and there was a re-enactment of several naval battles against the French on

. In

a "naval arch" was erected as a bridge between the park and the lawn of Buckingham House. The arch was decorated with the names of naval officers:

Howe Howe may refer to: People and fictional characters * Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor Titles * Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

, St Vincent, Collingwood, Broke, Saumarez,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

and others. A royal booth in the park displayed the names " Nelson of the Nile" and "

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

". Printers produced numerous keepsakes for the event including depictions of its attractions, which was billed as "the largest fair, for every kind of amusement, that was ever known in this or any other country". In

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, there was a "grand celebration" on the 12, 13, 15 and 16 August 1814, the changed date to accommodate the change to New Style dates. On the 12th, the foundation stone of the

General Post Office, Dublin The General Post Office (GPO; ga, Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office. It is the principal post office of Dublin — the capital city of Ireland — and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, t ...

was laid by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, GCB, PC (29 May 1752 – 13 May 1825), known as The Lord Whitworth between 1800 and 1813 and as The Viscount Whitworth between 1813 and 1815, was a British diplomat and politician. Early years Whitwort ...

, attended by the Post-Masters-General,

Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill Charles Henry St John O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill, KP, PC (I) (22 January 1779 – 12 February 1841) was an Irish politician, peer and landowner. He was born in 1779 to John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, County Antrim, Irelan ...

and

Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded his father in ...

. There was a

fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

display on

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by L ...

; several trees were cut down to make the display more visible. The Dublin-based medallist Isaac Parkes (1815–1859) struck a

commemorative medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

depicting George, The Prince Regent. The Grand Jubilee was celebrated in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

on 1–3 August, and

Thomas Wyon the elder Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830) of the Wyon family was an English engraver of dies, who became Chief Engraver of the Seals. Life He was the eldest of the four sons of George Wyon, an engraver. Around 1796, he went into business in Birmingh ...

struck a commemorative bronze medal.

References

{{Reflist 1814 in England Centennial anniversaries Public holidays in the United Kingdom 1814 in London Royal Parks of London