Everything about Horse Guards Parade totally explained
Horse Guards Parade is a large
parade ground off
Whitehall in central
London, at
grid reference . It was formerly the site of the
Palace of Whitehall's
tiltyard, where
tournaments were held in the time of
Henry VIII. It was also the scene of the annual celebrations of the birthday of Queen
Elizabeth I.
The area has been used for a variety of reviews, parades and other ceremonies since the
17th century. It is the site of the annual ceremonies of
Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the
monarch's official birthday, and
Beating Retreat. For much of the late
20th century it was put to a rather less dignified purpose — as a car park for senior
civil servants — but this use was ended in the
1990s.
The catalyst for the clearing of the parade ground was the
Provisional IRA's
mortar attack on
10 Downing Street on
7 February 1991, which was carried out from a vehicle parked near to Horse Guards Parade in Horse Guards Avenue. Not surprisingly, vehicles are now not allowed to park anywhere in the area.
Layout
The parade ground is open on the west side, where it faces
Horse Guards Road and
St. James's Park. It is flanked on the north by the
Old Admiralty and the
Admiralty Citadel, on the east by
Horse Guards — formerly the headquarters of the
British Army — and on the south by the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the rear garden wall of
10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British
Prime Minister. Access to this side of Horse Guards Parade is now restricted for security reasons.
Monuments
A number of military monuments and trophies ring the outside of the parade ground, including:
In
2003 the
Royal Naval Division Memorial, designed by Sir
Edwin Lutyens in
1925, was returned to its original site in Horse Guards Parade and rededicated on "Beaucourt Day" (
13 November 2003).
An oddity is the black background to the number 2 of the double sided clock which overlooks the Parade Ground and the front entrance, it's popularly thought to commemorate the time the last absolute monarch of England, Charles I, was beheaded at the Banqueting House opposite.
The 2012 Olympics
Horse Guards Parade will host the beach volleyball competition of the
2012 Summer Olympics held in London. Temporary courts and seating will be installed, much as seating is installed annually for Trooping the Colour. There will be two courts with capacities of 12,000 and 5,000.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Horse Guards Parade'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://horse_guards_parade.totallyexplained.com">Horse Guards Parade Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
