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Top Attractions in Kensington Gardens

Elfin Oak

The Elfin Oak is the stump of a 900-year-old oak tree in Kensington Gardens in London, carved and painted to look as though elves, gnomes and small animals are living in its bark. The hollow, donated by Lady Fortescue, originally came from Richmond Park, and was moved to Kensington Gardens in 1928 as part of George Lansburys scheme of public improvements in London. Over the next two years the illustrator Ivor Innes carved the figures of the "Little People" into it. These included Wookey the witch, with her three jars of health, wealth and happiness, Huckleberry the gnome, carrying a bag of berries up the Gnomes Stairway to the banquet within Bark Hall, and Grumples and Groodles the Elves being awakened by Brownie, Dinkie, Rumplelocks and Hereandthere stealing eggs from the crows nest. Innes also illustrated a 1930 childrens book written by his wife Elsie and based on the Elfin Oak. In it, Elsie wrote: for centuries now it has been the home of fairies, gnomes, elves, imps, and pixies. In the nooks and crannies they lurk, or peer out of holes and crevices, their natural windows and doorways. It is their hiding-place by day, their revelry place by night, and when the great moon tops the bare branchless tree the Elfin Clans come out to play and frolic in the moonlight. The inside cover of Pink Floyds 1969 album Ummagumma features a picture of David Gilmour in front of the Elfin Oak. The comedian Spike Milligan was a lifelong fan of the Oak, and in 1996 he led a successful campaign to have it restored. In December 1997 Heritage Minister Tony Banks declared it a Grade II listed structure.

Frieze of Parnassus

The Frieze of Parnassus is a large sculpted stone frieze encircling the podium, or base, of the Albert Memorial in London, England. The Albert Memorial was constructed in the 1860s in memory of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The frieze is named after Mount Parnassus, the favorite resting place in Ancient Greek mythology for the muses. It contains 169 life-size full-length sculptures, a mixture of low-relief and high-relief, of individual composers, architects, poets, painters, and sculptors from history. The depictions of earlier figures necessarily, were imaginary, although many of the figures were based on materials contained in a collection of artworks and drawings gathered for the purpose of ensuring authentic depictions, where this was possible. The total length of the frieze is approximately 210 feet. The frieze was intended to be the soul of the memorial, and the memorials designer, George Gilbert Scott, stated that he was inspired by the Hémicycle des Beaux Arts by Hippolyte Delaroche. The memorial was not laid out precisely to directions of the compass, however, closely enough that the sides are referred to by direction. Musicians and poets were placed on the south side, with painters on the east side, sculptors on the west side, and architects on the north side. Henry Hugh Armstead carved the figures on the south and east sides, the painters, musicians, and poets, and grouped them by national schools. John Birnie Philip carved the figures on the west and north sides, the sculptors and architects, and arranged them in chronological order. The carving was executed in situ, and was said by Scott to be "perhaps one of the most laborious works of sculpture ever undertaken". The initial contracts, agreed around 1864, had specified that the work was to be completed in four years for £7,781 15s. The eventual cost, however, exceeded this by some £2,000 and the work was not finished until 1872. Large groups of figures of eminent persons from the past often decorate public buildings and monuments of the later nineteenth century, and some buildings such as the Walhalla temple in Bavaria and the Panthéon in Paris were dedicated to this purpose. Many figures of visual artists decorate the Victoria and Albert Museum close to the Albert Memorial at the other end of the "Albertopolis" complex. A mosaic frieze of more generalised figures from the arts runs round the circular Royal Albert Hall adjacent to the memorial. The Parnassus by Raphael, opposite the philosophers of The School of Athens in the Vatican Raphael Rooms, is an earlier group portrait of great artists.

Statue of Edward Jenner

The statue of Edward Jenner, London is a Grade II listed outdoor bronze sculpture of the pioneer of the worlds first vaccine, physician and scientist, Edward Jenner, and is located in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, London, England. The sculptor was William Calder Marshall and the statue was originally unveiled by Albert, Prince Consort in Trafalgar Square on 17 May 1858 before being moved to its present location in 1862. The statue depicts Jenner in a seated position with one hand holding papers and is upon a plinth of Portland stone with Jenners surname displayed on a front panel of Aberdeen granite. At the base of the plinth is the inscription W. Calder Marshall, R. A. Sculpt. 1858. A descriptive bronze plaque is set into the ground in front of the statue and it reads: Edward Jenner, MD, FRS, 1749–1823, country doctor who benefited mankind. In Jenners time smallpox was a dreaded disease worldwide and caused many deaths particularly of children. Survivors were left badly scarred and often blinded or deformed. In 1796 Jenner vaccinated James Phipps with cowpox and showed that the boy was then immune to smallpox. He predicted the worldwide eradication of smallpox. This was finally achieved in 1980. Jenner was born, practiced and died in Berkeley, Gloucestershire and studied at St. Georges Hospital, London. This statue by William Calder Marshall RA was inaugurated by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, and was the first to be erected in Kensington Gardens in 1862. The cost was met by international subscription. In 1853, the year that United Kingdom legislated for compulsory vaccination, the sculptor Calder Marshall gained attention from the medical community for his bust of Jenner which was shown at The Great Exhibition, and a public fund to establish a London memorial was launched. International donations were generous, but the British public were less supportive, and Caldwell Marshall was left seriously out of pocket. Despite this, the finished statue, unveiled by Queen Victorias consort, Prince Albert, was a triumph for the vaccinationist cause. The prominent memorial was opposed by anti-vaccinationists, but even more strongly by the military, as Trafalgar Square, in 1858, only included statues of notable military figures. As a newspaper at the time suggested ...the veterans of the Horse Guards and Admiralty were scandalised at the idea of a mere civilian, a doctor, having a place in such distinguished company, and moreover daring to be seated while his betters were standing. Despite calls by The Times, and in Parliament, for Jenners statue to be moved, with royal support it remained in place until two months after the death of the Prince Consort in December, 1861. In 1862, commenting on events, the British Medical Journal compared the military statues to Jenner, and noted that they remained in Trafalgar Square because they killed their fellow creatures whereas he only saved them. A proposal to return the statue to a more prominent location was suggested in a letter to The Times in 1923, and again in 1937. In 2010, the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox that began with Jenners vaccine, a new campaign to return the statue to Trafalgar Square began.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground is a memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales in Kensington Gardens, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It was erected after her death at a cost of £1.7 million on the site of the existing Peter Pan childrens playground which had been founded in the time of JM Barries but it is larger and more elaborate than the original. The design, by Land Use Consultants, was inspired by Peter Pan. Its most prominent feature is a full-scale wooden pirate ship which serves as a climbing area for children, and is surrounded by sand in which they can play. Other features include slides, swings, and an area designed for those with disabilities, including fragrant plants and sound features . The playground is an example of a "natural play" concept, designed to stimuate childrens imagination, sense of adventure, and to encourage them to challenge their physical and mental prowess. It is at the north western corner of Kensington Gardens, in sight of the Princesss former residence at Kensington Palace. It is adjacent to the Broad Walk of Kensington Gardens.
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