Rotten Row's Tercentenary Bollards and Gas Lamps

A one of The Royal Park's volunteer guides, I will be leading some free tours on Saturday 6th June about The Great Exhibition site in Hyde Park. This is part of the Great Exhibition Road celebrations. Tours start at 2.30pm and 4.15pm, but group size is limited – simply show up on the day and register at our stall outside Imperial College. My colleague Elizabeth will leading the walks at the same times on Sunday 7th. Find out more here. 

On Friday afternoon I went to Hyde Park to check out the route and then headed eastwards towards Knightsbridge along the path between The Serpentine and Rotten Row (Le Route de Roi, / The King's Road).

View across the Great Exhibition to Albert Memorial looking teeny tiny in the distance – join us for one of our regular tours and get up close to the memorial.  

The King's horsey highway is separated from the cyclists and pedestrians by a very long line of bollards interspersed with gas lamps. I went to take a closer at some writing on one of the lamp bases and saw that it had been presented by Cheryl Beth Smith and Jennifer Nicole Smith in 1990. I then noticed that the adjacent bollards had names around the top. When I'd taken the middle snap, above, I hadn't then spotted the names and can now see that it says The Wiltshire (something). Could be a regiment, could be a pub. 

The sponsors' names are arranged in groups/types. The first ones I don't recognise. See above for John Young and Nicholas James. There's also Burchipluma Ind[ustries?], Lady Alexandra (something) and Graham Axford. Thank you all, whoever you are.

Poor Anne has lost her family name so it's hard to ascertain who she was, but I am sure we all know Whitbread the brewer and Hepworth the tailor.

There then follows a series bearing names to do with horses and riding:

The Horsemans Press, The Saddle Association and The Donkey Breeders Association, Blenheim Riding School and Commanche something (forgot to check for other words). Hmm, was this a horsey brand in the 1990s? It got me thinking how marvellous it would be if a group of fearsome be-feathered braves suddenly galloped past!

I did not take a photo of every name as, even by my own standards, that would be bonkers, so on reaching the next gas lamp base (shown above) I walked through to the lake and watched two young girls take turns to make videos of each other posing and pouting and/or looking sweet and carefree whilst wearing what looked like very cheaply-made clothes. One of them was actually wearing a pair of hotel slippers. Are they making memories to show their future grandchildren?! 

Back to the bollards. I decided to look at the next section of bollards and found one with the name Adair on it but the info strip is upside down. This section is opposite the barracks and stables so it's fitting that many of the names reflect this, showing commanders, generals, military services etc. One of the police bands is becoming unattached. 

 

We then move into the world of catering and high street names, some of which no longer exist...

Allied Lyons was formed in the late 1970s when J. Lyons & Co merged with the brewery that owned Ind Coope and Tetley. And then we have Pizzaland – back in the eighties it was either them or PizzaHut who with those horrid thick crusts. I'm much prefer a thin crust and back then I would often enjoy a Pizzaland Platter at lunchtime – half a pizza with salad. 

Chicago Rib Shack is a real blast from the past. Founded in 1982, this was created by Bob Payton, the American hotelier and restaurateur. One of his other eateries used to be at No.7 Hanover Square and whenever I am walking past there I am reminded of The Chicago Pizza Pie Factory (f.1978). I tried eating there a couple of times but found it too cakey. As I've already said, I'm a thin crust girl. 

 

Utility companies, petroleum and oil comes next a well as some we-known names including a series bearing The Post Office (not shown). Marks & Spencer is well-represented – I think I counted six of theirs. There's also quite a few donated by Asda and the The Evening Standard adjacent to one bearing the name of Derek Jameson, tabloid newspaper editor and broadcaster.

At this point, near to the exit for Knightsbridge station, I decided that was enough. It was a hot day so, I went to sit on a bench in the shade for a while to finish my cryptic crossword and do some more people-watching. 

At home, I tried to find more information about this 300 year commemorative effort but, so far, I've only found just one mention which barely skims the subject and The Royal Parks page about Rotten Row doesn't help. 

I've just recalled that I talked about Rotten Row near the Rose Garden on my birthday walk through the parks with friends in August 2023. Yet there's no mention of the sponsor names on this 1990 memorial and none of us at that time noticed the letters around the bollards.  

The 1990 event was a big affair as reported in the press, but I can't properly show you that here because I let my British Newspapers Online account lapse – I can only see these headlines which show that the parade included the largest ever cavalcade of horses, a gala event and carriage rides. I can't get into the info without renewing my subscription, so if you have an account and can supply any further info please do let me know. I'm also keen to see a list of the names involved and to find out how much each bollard/lamp had cost.

I like how this gives us a window into the big cheeses of the 1980s. Next time I am wandering along Rotten Row I will keep my eye open for some bygone brands and there's every chance that I will write another post about this.