Rotten Row

Today, Rotten Row is a wide, sandy track running along the south side of Hyde Park. It is where the Household Cavalry exercise their horses and is also used by the stables based within the park. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a popular gathering place for the middle and upper classes to promenade, as shown in this picture. Rotten Row is infact a corruption of the original name, Route du Roi. Conceived by William III, who moved his court from St. James's to Kensington Palace, he designed the Route du Roi to be a shortcut for him and Queen Mary to travel from their new home to St. James's Palace. Opened in 1690 and lit by 300 oil lamps, Route du Roi was the first artificially lit avenue in England. In 1876 the surface of Rotten Row was changed to a brick base covered in sand to make it more suitable to horse riding.