Shelter (formerly the pump house). Designed by Sir Charles Barry and Robert Richardson Banks. The Italian Garden in Kensington Gardens, London.
The Italian Garden was Prince Albert's brain-child, and a top-level team was commissioned to carry it out: the architect and landscaper Sir James Pennethorne (1801-71) designed the layout; Sir Charles Barry, together with Robert Richardson Banks, designed the ornate pumphouse/shelter; and John Thomas (1813-1862) was responsible for the reliefs and sculptures other than William Calder Marshall's Jenner, which, according to the 1996 plaque commemorating Edward Jenner's first smallpox vaccination, this memorial to the great physician "was inaugurated by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, and the first to be erected in Kensington Gardens in 1862. The cost was met by international subscription."
Left. The fountain seen from the pumphouse end. Right: A distant view of the pumphouse. [Click on these images to enlarge them.]
Photograph at top and text by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2006. Other photographs by Robert Freidus. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Other Views of the Italian Garden
- The stone carving of John Thomas
- Four Scenes with Putti
- Stone Urns and Water Nymph
- Entwined initials of Victoria and Albert
- Bas Relief portraits of Queen Victoria and Pince Albert
- The Jenner Memorial
- The fountains (opposite end to that of the pump house)
Last modified 12 October 2011