About the Of Waterloo and Wellington Walk in London
In this two-hour visit to Apsley House, we'll examine the life of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, hero of the Napoleonic Wars and victor of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. His house, which has been preserved as a memorial and filled with art, furniture, and decorative objects, serves as a backdrop to our fascinating discussion of two remarkable figures from the early nineteenth century, the Duke of Wellington and his nemesis, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France.
Our tour begins outside Apsley House, known as No. 1 London, where we will consider the architecture of the building and its setting—now located at Hyde Park Corner, one of the busiest roundabouts in London. But, when it was built in the 19th century it was the first house one encountered on entering London from the west. The area around Apsley House features a number of public memorials to the Duke, which we will discuss before entering the building itself, his private domain.
Inside we will explore the suit
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In this two-hour visit to Apsley House, we'll examine the life of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, hero of the Napoleonic Wars and victor of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. His house, which has been preserved as a memorial and filled with art, furniture, and decorative objects, serves as a backdrop to our fascinating discussion of two remarkable figures from the early nineteenth century, the Duke of Wellington and his nemesis, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France.
Our tour begins outside Apsley House, known as No. 1 London, where we will consider the architecture of the building and its setting—now located at Hyde Park Corner, one of the busiest roundabouts in London. But, when it was built in the 19th century it was the first house one encountered on entering London from the west. The area around Apsley House features a number of public memorials to the Duke, which we will discuss before entering the building itself, his private domain.
Inside we will explore the suite of rooms that the Duke constructed as a shrine to his great victory at the battle of Waterloo and his experiences during the Napoleonic wars. Three strands run through the house and therefore through our narrative. The first strand is the biography of the Duke of Wellington and his many battles during the Napoleonic Wars. The first room in the house, his "museum," provides the perfect setting for this exploration. Here we'll find such objects as the astounding Egyptian Dinner Service and the magnificent Wellington Shield, given as gifts by European heads of state grateful for his role in ridding Europe from the imperialistic intentions Napoleon Bonaparte. The Duke’s extensive and varied art collection documents key battles of the Napoleonic Wars and portraits, which we'll use to discuss some of the figures of the period.
The second strand is the story of Wellington’s great enemy Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. For this part of the story we'll consider Canova’s masterpeice, the colossal nude statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, and Wellington’s portrait collection of Napoleon and his family. We'll look at Napoleon’s reputation in England in the nineteenth century, a man both demonised and mythologised, a figure considered both a hero and a villain.
The final strand is the story of collecting and art in the early nineteenth century, told through the Duke’s outstanding art collection, which includes Dutch genre scenes, Victorian narrative paintings, and the wonderful Spanish Collection, with paintings by Velazquez and Goya, given to the Duke in gratitude for his role in liberating Spain in 1814. The luxurious interior design of Apsley House alongside the display of the fine and decorative arts also reflect the Duke’s ideas on fashionable living, and his desire to preserve a way of life that was rapidly disappearing in nineteenth century England.
We'll leave with a much deeper understanding of the critical decades at the dawn of the 19th century through the eyes of the Duke of Wellington, a seminal figure of that time.
