Serpentine (lake) - History

History

In 1730 Queen Caroline, wife of George II, ordered the damming of the River Westbourne in Hyde Park as part of a general redevelopment of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Original monastic ponds may have existing in the location and these were modified as part of the 1730-1732 scheme to create a single lake. At that time, the Westbourne formed eleven natural ponds in the park. During the 1730s, the lake filled to its current size and shape. The redevelopment was carried out by Royal Gardener Charles Bridgeman, who dammed the Westbourne to create the artificial lake, and dug a large pond in the centre of Kensington Gardens (The Round Pond) to be a focal point for pathways in the park.

At the time of construction, artificial lakes were typically long and straight. The Serpentine was one of the earliest artificial lakes designed to appear natural, and was widely imitated in parks and gardens nationwide.

The lake achieved notoriety in December 1816 when Harriet Westbrook, the pregnant wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was found drowned in the Serpentine having left a suicide note addressed to her father, sister and husband. Shelley married Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin less than two weeks later.

The lake formed a focal point of the 1814 celebrations which marked a century of Hanoverian rule and re-enacted the British victory at Trafalgar nine years previously, and of the 1851 Great Exhibition, with the Crystal Palace standing on its southern shore. Following the introduction of more stringent regulations to protect the environment in the park, the relocation of the Crystal Palace, and the construction of the nearby Albertopolis complex of museums and exhibitions, large-scale events ceased to take place on the banks of the Serpentine. However, it was the location for the 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations, and a venue for the 2012 Olympics.

In the 1820s, the park was extensively redesigned by Decimus Burton. At the same time, John Rennie built the Serpentine Bridge to carry the newly built West Carriage Drive along the boundary between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, dividing the lake into the Serpentine (east) and the Long Water (west).

In 2011, The Royal Park embarked on the restoration of The Serpentine to combat growing concerns about the status of the water and the quality of the aquatic environment. The project resulted in a substantial change to the hydrology of the lake, which had a turnover time of 10 years, and is now reduced to 4–5 months as a result of new borehole water being pumped into the lake. The three boreholes, drilled into the Upper Chalk, now supply the lake with up to 900 000 cubic metres of water per annum ensuring that the lakes remains fresh and does not stagnate. In addition, the historically contaminated sediments have been treated and nutrients within the sediments chemically neutralised. Thirdly, the oxygen status of the water and the overall mixing of the lake is now controlled by a series of 24 aeration pumps fixed to the base of the lake. These ensure that the dissolved oxygen levels in the lake do not fall and result in chronic ecological stress. Finally, the overall ecology of the lake was reviewed and some of the large bream and carp were removed in February 2012 in order to reduce their disturbance of the sediment and vegetation of the lake. These measures were implemented over the period October 2011-June 2012. The resultant water quality of the lake was excellent and proved to be an extremely popular venue for the swimming portion of the London 2012 Triathlon and the Marathon Swim events in August 2012. The restoration project was always about the long term, and the measures are designed to ensure The Serpentine remains a high quality feature within Hyde Park.