The Coronation Arches were a series of four

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

arches erected over

The Mall, London The Mall () is a ceremonial route and roadway in the City of Westminster, central London, that travels between Buckingham Palace at its western end and Trafalgar Square via Admiralty Arch to the east. Along the north side of The Mall is gre ...

, for the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

in 1953. The arches were designed by

Eric Bedford Eric Lance Bedford (18 February 1928 – 8 July 2006) was an Australian politician, affiliated with the Labor Party and elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Bedford was born at Concord, NSW, and attended Fort Stre ...

. The

tubular steel Cold-formed steel (CFS) is the common term for steel products shaped by cold-working processes carried out near room temperature, such as rolling, pressing, stamping, bending, etc. Stock bars and sheets of cold-rolled steel (CRS) are common ...

arches were floodlit and were adorned with metalwork crowns and golden cane fan-shaped designs. Sources describe them as being in height. In a

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

debate on 3 December 1953, Minister of Works Sir David Eccles announced that he was considering the arches' fate, and that they may be used in the rebuilding of the

Palm House, Kew Gardens The Palm House is a large palm house in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, that specialises in growing arecaceae, palms and other tropical and subtropical plants. It was completed in 1848. Many of its plants are endangered or extinct in ...

at the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was later decided that renovation was preferable to rebuilding, and this option was rejected.

References

{{coords, 51.5057, -0.1311, display=title Coronation of Elizabeth II 1953 in London Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster 1950s in the City of Westminster