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Canada Gate

1911 establishments in EnglandBuildings and structures in Green ParkCanada–United Kingdom relationsGrade I listed gatesTourist attractions in the City of Westminster
Canada Gate
Canada Gate

Canada Gate forms part of the Queen Victoria Memorial scheme in London. An entrance to the Green Park, one of the eight Royal Parks in central London, the gate was presented to London by Canada (then the senior Dominion of the British Empire) as part of a vast memorial scheme dedicated to Queen Victoria, who died in 1901. The entire memorial, more an act of town planning than funerary monument, was designed by Sir Aston Webb. It takes the form of a processional route from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. Beginning at Admiralty Arch, the project takes in The Mall and culminates in a "rond point" before the palace, with Sir Thomas Brock's Victoria Memorial at its centre. The Canada Gate was commissioned, in 1905, along with the gates for Buckingham Palace and two other similar, but smaller gates presented by Australia and South Africa. The commission was won by the Bromsgrove Guild (a company of modern artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement) who completed the work and had the gate in situ by 1911. The gate stands to the north side of the "rond point" at the junction with Constitution Hill; today, a congested roundabout, but occasionally closed to traffic when the Mall is required for state processions from the palace. From the gate, a long double avenue stretches the width of the park through to Piccadilly. The gate is in the same style as those of Buckingham Palace and bears the coats of arms of six of the seven Canadian provinces of the time (left to right: Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), while in the centre of the gate is the original coat of arms of Canada of 1868. In design, Canada Gate takes the form of a screen consisting of 5 portals of gilded wrought iron, the central section being the principal and largest gate; the double gates are supported on columns of iron. The two wrought iron bays flanking the central gate contain smaller gates, while the two terminating bays contain smaller pedestrian gates. The screen is terminated by two massive pillars of Portland stone surmounted by patriotic statuary. On the pillars are reliefs of the shields of three other Canadian provinces, British Columbia (left) and Alberta and Saskatchewan (both right). The flanking inner columns are smaller and, like the iron posts, are crowned by gas lanterns of similar design to those on the pillars of the palace railings.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Canada Gate (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Canada Gate
The Broadwalk, City of Westminster Mayfair

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N 51.50253 ° E -0.14135 °
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The Broadwalk

The Broadwalk
W1J 7NB City of Westminster, Mayfair
England, United Kingdom
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Canada Gate
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Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace (UK: ) is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally appears to greet crowds. A German bomb destroyed the palace chapel during the Second World War; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. The original early-19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September and on some days in winter and spring.

Government Wine Cellar
Government Wine Cellar

The Government Wine Cellar (GWC) is a provider of wine to support the hospitality work of the United Kingdom's government. It was founded in 1908 and since 1922 has been housed in a cellar of Lancaster House in London. The cellar is estimated to contain around 39,000 bottles of wine and spirits estimated at a value of over £2 million. The cellar is managed day-to-day by the Government Butler and is overseen by the head of Government Hospitality coming under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Office. It was originally stocked on the advice of the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine, a quango that was abolished in 2010. Before its abolition, the committee met two or three times a year in the cellar, around a table carved from an elm tree that blew down in St James's Park in around 1830. The role of the committee was to taste the wines, make recommendations for new purchases to keep the cellar stocked, and to sell a portion on the open market to fund the restocking process. They also graded the wines and offered serving suggestions.Since 2010 cellar has been stocked according to recommendations from a specialist committee of Masters of Wine, chaired by a former diplomat. Aside from the Government Butler, access to the cellar is strictly limited to Permanent Secretaries and Ministers.The wine is served according to a complex system. Ministers are asked to give their preferences when they take office. Food being served at the banquet or function is usually factored in. National sensitivities and customs are also considered – for example when there is a Chinese delegation vintages from 1988 are used, as '8' is considered a lucky number in China.The cellar includes wines from Château Lafite, Cheval Blanc, Cos d’Estournel, Mouton Rothschild and Le Pin. It had previously held over seventeen different types of Champagne including a magnum of Champagne Krug 1964 and still holds such valuable spirits as an 1878 Grand Fins Bois Cognac and 1931 Quinta do Noval Port. English and Welsh wines are estimated to make up 44% of all those served in 2016, including Nyetimber’s demi-sec. The Foreign Office have stated that the most the cellar has ever spent on a single bottle of wine is £100.