Constitution Hill is a road in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It connects the western end of The Mall (just in front of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

) with Hyde Park Corner, and is bordered by

Buckingham Palace Gardens Buckingham Palace Garden is a large private park attached to the London residence of the British monarch. It is situated to the rear (west) of Buckingham Palace, occupying a site in the City of Westminster and forms the largest private garden in ...

to the south, and

Green Park The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the m ...

to the north. At the top of the rise in the roadway at the Corner is the Wellington Arch, near where the road is flanked by the Memorial Gates war monument.

Name

The origin of the name is uncertain. Parliamentary records from 1642 show a reference to "a small redoubt and battery on Constitution Hill". One theory is that King Charles II and others had a habit of taking "constitutional" walks (a stroll to benefit health, a persons 'constitution') there. In Strype's Map, 1720, it is marked "Road to

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around 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 by Kensingt ...

". (The roadway leads from the areas of St James's and Buckingham palaces to the area of Kensington Palace.) In John Smith's map of 1724, it is called "Constitution Hill". An old lane on this route was widened in connection with the development of

in the 1820s by John Nash. It formed a processional route from the palace to Hyde Park. It is now closed to traffic on Sundays and public holidays.

History

One account has Charles' brother,

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

returning from a hunt on

Hounslow Heath Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow He ...

and stopping his coach along Constitution Hill to avoid hitting the king walking across the road. Upon wondering if Charles put himself in danger by walking out in front of a vehicle, the King replied, "No danger whatever, James, for I am sure that no man in England would take my life to make you king." Constitution Hill was a popular spot for

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

s. On 11 January 1696, Sir Henry Colt, 1st Baronet was challenged to a duel by Robert "Beau" Fielding (future husband of Charles II's mistress Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland), near what is now the site of Bridgewater House. Fielding injured the Baronet, but was subsequently disarmed, ending the fight. In 1730,

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, (22 March 16847 July 1764) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons from 1707 to 1742 when he was r ...

duelled with John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey.Edward Walford, 'St James St and neighbourhood', in Old and New London: Volume 4 (London, 1878), pp. 165-181. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol4/pp165-181 ccessed 28 August 2020 The area was the scene of three assassination attempts on

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

—in 1840 (by Edward Oxford), 1842 (by John Francis) and 1849 (by William Hamilton). In 1850, the former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Sir Robert Peel was thrown from his horse on Constitution Hill by the gate into Green Park; he suffered a fatal injury and died three days later. Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner sits at the end of the road by

Apsley House Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing towards the large traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. It ...

. It was designed by Decimus Burton and completed in 1828. A major restoration project by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

was undertaken between 1999 and 2001. In 2002, war memorial to over five million Commonwealth soldiers, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Africa, Caribbean and Nepal, was constructed near the top of Constitution Hill, just before Hyde Park Corner; the memorial is known as the Memorial Gates. It was opened by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on 6 November. Large concrete lamp posts were installed in Constitution Hill in the 1960s. Thanks to the swift intervention of comedian and enthusiastic environmentalist

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

they were removed within days and the old gas lamps are still there.

Notes

Citations Sources * *

External links

Commonwealth Gates War Memorial

Images of Constitution Hill, London
{{coord, 51.5024, -0.1464, dim:500_region:GB, display=title Streets in the City of Westminster Hills of London Buckingham Palace