Rotten Row, SW1

Rotten Row runs in a fairly straight line along the southern perimeter of Hyde Park from its intersection with Carriage Drive at the eastern end to the West Carriage Drive in the west. It has a distinctive sandy, yellowish hue, taking the form of a bridle path made from a mix of gravel and tan, the crushed bark of oak trees and the residue of the tanning process. Its modern day manifestation is a tad shorter than its original form which stretched a mile and a quarter from Hyde Park Corner to Kensington Palace.

The Road was built by William III in 1691 to give him a direct route from his newly acquired Kensington Palace to his London residence of the Palace of St James’s. The western approaches to the city at the time were dangerous with highwaymen and footpads on the look-out for unwary travellers. As a security measure William lined the road with 300 lanterns, making it the first road in London to boast street lighting. It also earned the thoroughfare the sobriquet of Lamp Road and was used exclusively by the royal family and members of their court.

In 1737 George II had what is now known as Carriage Drive built and the intention was to grass over Lamp Road. There was a public outcry as other modifications to Hyde Park including the creation of the Serpentine had deprived horse riders of space to exercise their nags. As a compromise Lamp Road was converted into a bridle way – you can still hire a horse and ride along it today.

Around the 1780s the bridle way started to be known as Rotten Row. No one can give a conclusive reason as to why it was so called but there are a number of competing theories, the best in my view being that it is a corruption of route de roi – the Brits are masters at mangling French – or that it took its name from the soft, giving material with which it was constructed. I prefer the latter but there are a number of Rotten Rows to be found around our green and pleasant land and that derivation does not necessarily suit most of them.

What is clear is that Rotten Row became the place for the nobs of London to be seen exercising their nags. They were expected to wear their very best riding clothes and behave with decorum – horses and carriages were to be driven at a sedate pace and no reckless or high-speed driving was allowed. By 1834 the traffic along the Row was so heavy that the authorities required that carriages use George II’s road while horses and pedestrians could continue to use the Row. The only exception was the Hereditary Grand Falconer, the Duke of St Albans, who was granted the privilege of driving his carriage along the Row. He did so just once a year so as to maintain the privilege.

From 1737 the Row was lined with wooden fencing three feet high but in 1853 iron railings took their place and the Row was widened to 100 feet. The railings were taken down during the Second World War and melted down for scrap metal. They were not replaced until towards the end of the 20^th century to protect cyclists. The bridle path had by now had reverted to its original width of around 80 feet to accommodate the cycle way.

In 1868/9 a chunk of the Row to the western end was lost to make way for the construction of the Prince Albert Memorial. What is now the Flower Walk in Kensington Gardens is all that remains of it.