Arch of Portland stone, it is a two-story structure consisting of one wide central arch for the road traffic, flanked on both sides by narrower arches for pedestrians. On the upper part, four statues celebrate the Stuart monarchy:
on the south (originally west) side, Charles II and his father:
Charles II (St. James's Palace 1630 - Whitehall Palace 1685), King of England 1660-1685
(Wikipedia).
Charles I (Dunfermline Palace 1600 - Whitehall Palace 1649), King of England, 1625-1649
(Wikipedia).
on the north (originally east side), Charles I's parents:
James I (Edinburgh 1566 - Theobalds House 1625), King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603-1625
(Wikipedia).
Anne of Denmark (Skanderborg Castle 1574 - Hampton Court Palace 1619), Queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of James VI and I
(Wikipedia).
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Annotation
The arch was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and constructed between 1669 and 1672 at the border of the City of London in Fleet Street. In 1878 the City of London Corporation, eager to widen the road but unwilling to destroy so historic a monument, dismantled it piece-by-piece over an 11-day period and stored its 2,700 stones carefully. On its spot a monument was built (see Temple Bar Memorial).
In 1880, at the instigation of his wife, Valerie Susan Meux, the brewer Henry Meux bought the stones of Wren's arch and re-erected the arch as a gateway at his house, Theobalds Park, between Enfield and Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. There it remained, incongruously sitting in a clearing in a wood, from 1878-2003.
Sculptor
John Bushnell (d. 1701),
English sculptor
(Wikipedia).
