Editing Marble Arch (section)

==Design and construction==
[[File:Nashvanda.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Model of [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]]'s original design for the arch, now in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London]]
Nash's three-arch design is based on that of the [[Arch of Constantine]] in Rome and the [[Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel]] in Paris.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=528}}<ref name=timbs>{{cite book |title=London and Westminster: City and Suburb |last=Timbs |first=John |year=1868 |location=London |pages=190–91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lREHAAAAQAAJ}}</ref> The triumphal arch is faced with [[Carrara]] marble with embellishments of marble extracted from quarries near [[Seravezza]] in [[Tuscany]].
 
[[John Flaxman]] was chosen to make the commemorative sculpture. After his death in 1826, the commission was divided between Sir [[Richard Westmacott]], [[Edward Hodges Baily]] and [[John Charles Felix Rossi|J. C. F. Rossi]]. In 1829, a [[Equestrian statue of George IV, Trafalgar Square|bronze equestrian statue of George IV]] was commissioned from Sir [[Francis Chantrey]], with the intention of placing it on top of the arch.<ref>{{cite book |title=Handbook of London: Past and Present |last=Cunningham |first=Peter |volume=1|year= 1850|publisher= John Murray|location=London |page=511 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0BQNAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

Construction began in 1827, but was cut short in 1830, following the death of the spendthrift King George IV – the rising costs were unacceptable to the new king, [[William IV]], who later tried to offload the uncompleted palace onto [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] as a substitute for the recently destroyed [[Palace of Westminster]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Ziegler|first=Phillip|title=King William IV|publisher=Collins|year=1971|page=280|isbn=0-00-211934-X}}</ref>

Work restarted in 1832, this time under the supervision of [[Edward Blore]], who greatly reduced Nash's planned attic stage and omitted its sculpture, including the statue of George IV. The arch was completed in 1833.<ref name=past>{{cite web |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1492760&sort=4&search=all&criteria=Gate%20Burton&rational=q&recordsperpage=10 |title= Pastscape-Detailed Result|publisher=English Heritage |access-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

Some of the unused sculpture, including parts of Westmacott's frieze of Waterloo and the Nelson panels, were used at Buckingham Palace. His victory statues and Rossi's relief of Europe and Asia were used at the [[National Gallery]]. In 1843 the equestrian statue of George IV was installed on one of the pedestals in [[Trafalgar Square]].<ref name=past/>

The white marble soon lost its light colouring in the polluted London atmosphere. In 1847, ''Sharpe's London Magazine'' described it as "discoloured by smoke and damp, and in appearance resembling a huge sugar erection in a confectioner's shop window."<ref>{{cite journal |year=1847 |title=A Little Talk About Buckingham Palace |journal=Sharpe's London Magazine |volume=13 |issue=4 |page=355 }}</ref>

The arch is {{convert|45|ft|m}} high,<ref name="Remembers">{{cite web |title=Memorial: Marble Arch |url=https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/marble-arch |website=London Remembers |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref> and measures {{convert|60|by|30|ft}} east-west by north–south.<ref name=past/>