The Long Water is a
recreational lake in
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde P ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, created in 1730 at the behest of
Caroline of Ansbach
, father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
, mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire
, death_date =
, death_place = St James's Pala ...
. The Long Water refers to the long and narrow western half of the lake that is known as the
Serpentine. Serpentine Bridge, which marks the boundary between
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 ...
and Kensington Gardens, also marks the Long Water's eastern boundary.
The Long Water and the Serpentine are generally considered to be part of one lake.
Geography
Originally the lake was fed by the
River Westbourne
The Westbourne or Kilburn is a culverted small River Thames tributary in London, rising in Hampstead and Brondesbury Park and which as a drain unites and flows southward through Kilburn and Bayswater (west end of Paddington) to skirt underne ...
entering at the Italian Garden at the north-western end of the Long Water. The Westbourne ceased to provide the water for the Serpentine in 1834, as the river had become polluted, and so water was then pumped from the Thames. The water is now supplied by three boreholes drilled into the Upper Chalk. The first borehole is located at the Italian Gardens, the second at the Diana Memorial and the third, drilled in 2012 to a depth of 132m, is within 50m of the Diana Memorial. The Long Water runs south-east from this point to Serpentine Bridge, where the lake curves to the east, following the natural contours of the land. At the eastern end, water flows out of the lake via a
sluice
Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...
in the dam, forming a small ornamental waterfall at the Dell. The outflow has not historically maintained the waterfall, and re-circulation pumps were installed in the Dell, below the dam, to sustain this feature. The restoration work in 2012 restored the flows into the Serpentine and this waterfall is now restored as originally designed. Historically the river flowed due south from this point, marking the boundary between
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
and
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, but since 1850 it has been diverted into a culvert, running underground to reach the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
near
Chelsea Bridge
Chelsea Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames in west London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea on the south bank, and split between the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensing ...
.
The lake as a whole (including the Serpentine) has a maximum depth of 17 feet (5.3 m). The lake is often reported to be deeper, but bathymetric surveys by the Royal Park in 2010 revealed the design of the lake.
History
![Rocque map Serpentine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Rocque_map_Serpentine.jpg)
In 1730
Queen Caroline, wife of
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089)
* ...
, ordered the damming of the
River Westbourne
The Westbourne or Kilburn is a culverted small River Thames tributary in London, rising in Hampstead and Brondesbury Park and which as a drain unites and flows southward through Kilburn and Bayswater (west end of Paddington) to skirt underne ...
in Hyde Park as part of a general redevelopment of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Original monastic ponds may have existed in the location; these were modified as part of the 1730–1732 scheme to create a single lake.
At that time, the Westbourne formed eleven natural ponds in the park. During the 1730s, the lake filled to its current size and shape. The redevelopment was carried out by Royal Gardener
Charles Bridgeman
Charles Bridgeman (1690–1738) was an English garden designer who helped pioneer the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres an ...
, who dammed the Westbourne to create the artificial lake, and dug a large pond in the centre of Kensington Gardens (The Round Pond) to be a focal point for pathways in the park.
At the time of construction, artificial lakes were typically long and straight. The Serpentine was one of the earliest artificial lakes designed to appear natural,
and was widely imitated in parks and gardens nationwide.
The lake achieved notoriety in December 1816 when Harriet Westbrook, the pregnant wife of the poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...
, was found drowned in the Serpentine having left a suicide note addressed to her father, sister and husband. Shelley married
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...
less than two weeks later.
![London Serpentine Bridge from East](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/London_Serpentine_Bridge_from_East.jpg)
The lake formed a focal point of the 1814 celebrations which marked a century of Hanoverian rule and re-enacted the British victory at
Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to:
* Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain
* Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England
It may also refer to:
Music
* ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees
Pl ...
nine years previously, and of the 1851
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
, with
the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
standing on its southern shore.
Following the introduction of more stringent regulations to protect the environment in the park, the relocation of the Crystal Palace, and the construction of the nearby
Albertopolis
Albertopolis is the nickname given to the area centred on Exhibition Road in London, named after Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It contains many educational and cultural sites. It is in South Kensington, split between the Royal Bor ...
complex of museums and exhibitions, large-scale events ceased to take place on the banks of the Serpentine. However, it was the location for the 1977
Silver Jubilee celebrations,
and a venue for the
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
In the 1820s, the park was extensively redesigned by
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...
. At the same time,
John Rennie built the Serpentine Bridge to carry the newly built
West Carriage Drive along the boundary between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, dividing the lake into the Serpentine (east) and the Long Water (west).
Environs
![Hyde Park lido](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Hyde_Park_lido.JPG)
At the northern end of the Long Water are five fountains surrounded by classical statuary and sculpture in an area officially known as the Italian Gardens. A large bronze memorial to
Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...
, the developer of modern
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
, dominates the area; it was originally located in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
in 1858, but four years later was moved to its present site. In recent years there has been an ongoing campaign for the memorial to be moved to the
empty plinth in Trafalgar Square.
The Long Water is designated as a bird sanctuary. It has important populations of breeding waterfowls, and in winter there are many migratory visitors.
A 2005 survey showed it as home to 90 species of moth alone.
On the western bank of the Long Water, deliberately hidden in foliage, is a bronze
Peter Pan statue
The statue of Peter Pan is a 1912 bronze sculpture of J. M. Barrie's character Peter Pan. It was commissioned by Barrie and made by Sir George Frampton. The original statue is displayed in Kensington Gardens in London, to the west of The Long Wa ...
by
George Frampton
Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combining ...
.
The "real world" elements of the play and novel were set in the park and in the surrounding streets.
Image gallery
Image:Kensington Garden Fountains.JPG, The Italian Garden; the fountains are fed by a borehole into the Upper Chalk.
Image:Italian Garden fountains.jpg, Fountains in the Italian Garden
Image:Italian Gardens panorama.jpg, The Italian Garden
Image:Serpentine Bridge.JPG, Serpentine Bridge from the north bank
Image:Lansbury's Lido.jpg, Lansbury's Lido
Image:Hyde Park Dell.JPG, The brutalist
Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...
architecture of the Dell Restaurant
The Dell Restaurant (now trading as the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen) is a Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic ...
, situated on the northern end of the dam, dominates the eastern end of the lake.
Image:Holocaust Mem Hyde Park.JPG, The Holocaust Memorial, immediately east of the dam
Image:Cormorants in Long Water.jpg, Cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...
fishing from posts in the Long Water
Image:Under Serpentine Bridge.JPG, The Serpentine Bridge from below
Image:Long Water birds.JPG, Birds sitting on poles in the Long Water
Image:Solarshuttle & Knightsbridge Barracks.JPG, The Solarshuttle, moored in front of Hyde Park Barracks
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Kensington Gardens and the Long Water official home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Water
1730 establishments in England
Buildings and structures completed in 1730
Lakes of London
Lidos
Hyde Park, London
Parks and open spaces in the City of Westminster
Kensington Gardens
Caroline of Ansbach