Leonard Bentley
Trafalgar Square
This is a magic lantern slide showing Trafalgar Square looking northeast from the centre of the Square. The statue of General Gordon looks very new, it was placed here in October 1888 and now stands on Victoria Embankment outside the Ministry of Defence. There are two police constables from King Street police station, both are wearing the 1864 pattern tunic. The officer on the terrace appears to be looking at the banks of flowers which are adjacent to the King George IV equestrian statue. This is summer 1889 and from the beginning of July until the end of September, the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in the guise of a Mr. Child placed flowering plants in banks against the two north inner corners of the square with the permission of the First Commissioner of Works. It appears that this was a one off and did not continue the following year. Much later during the refurbishment of the Square in 1948, raised flower beds were installed in front of the benches at the back of the Square, these in turn were removed during the most recent refurbishment during the early 2000s. In my day as a Police Constable posted to the square on a regular basis the flower beds and especially the seats behind them produced a never-ending flow of persons who were subject to arrest, people wanted on a warrant, juvenile runaways, vagrants, drunks, drug addicts etc, etc.
Best viewed with the zoom feature.
Trafalgar Square
This is a magic lantern slide showing Trafalgar Square looking northeast from the centre of the Square. The statue of General Gordon looks very new, it was placed here in October 1888 and now stands on Victoria Embankment outside the Ministry of Defence. There are two police constables from King Street police station, both are wearing the 1864 pattern tunic. The officer on the terrace appears to be looking at the banks of flowers which are adjacent to the King George IV equestrian statue. This is summer 1889 and from the beginning of July until the end of September, the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in the guise of a Mr. Child placed flowering plants in banks against the two north inner corners of the square with the permission of the First Commissioner of Works. It appears that this was a one off and did not continue the following year. Much later during the refurbishment of the Square in 1948, raised flower beds were installed in front of the benches at the back of the Square, these in turn were removed during the most recent refurbishment during the early 2000s. In my day as a Police Constable posted to the square on a regular basis the flower beds and especially the seats behind them produced a never-ending flow of persons who were subject to arrest, people wanted on a warrant, juvenile runaways, vagrants, drunks, drug addicts etc, etc.
Best viewed with the zoom feature.