A Brief History of the Mall

---

The Mall began as part of the tended grounds of St James's Palace, and when pall-mall became popular, as a field for playing the game. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a fashionable promenade, bordered by trees.[2] It was envisioned as a ceremonial route in the early 20th century, matching the creation of similar ceremonial routes in other cities such as Berlin, Mexico City, Oslo, Paris, Saint Petersburg, Vienna and Washington, D.C. These routes were intended to be used for major national ceremonies. As part of this development – designed by Aston Webb – a new façade was constructed for Buckingham Palace to face down the Mall, and the Victoria Memorial was erected.

The Victoria Memorial is immediately before the gates of the Palace, whilst Admiralty Arch at the far end leads into Trafalgar Square. The length of The Mall from where it joins Constitution Hill at the Victoria Memorial end to Admiralty Arch is exactly 0.5 nautical miles (0.93 km; 0.58 mi). St. James's Park is on the south side of The Mall, opposite Green Park and St James's Palace, on the north side. Running off The Mall at its eastern end is Horse Guards Parade, where the Trooping the Colour ceremony is held.

The surface of The Mall has been coloured red since the 1950s giving the effect of a giant red carpet leading up to Buckingham Palace. This colour was obtained using synthetic iron oxide pigment from Deanshanger Oxide Works (Deanox),[3][better source needed] which was created using the Deanox Process devised by chemist Ernest Lovell. David Eccles, as Minister of Works from 1951 to 1954, chose the colour.

On Victory in Europe Day (8 May 1945), the Palace was the centre of British celebrations, with the King, Queen and Princess Elizabeth (the future queen) and Princess Margaret appearing on the balcony, with the Palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd on The Mall.[citation needed]

During state visits, the monarch and the visiting head of state are escorted in a state carriage up The Mall and the street is decorated with Union Flags and the flags of the visiting head of state's country. During the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, over one million people packed The Mall to watch the public displays and the appearance of the Royal Family on the palace balcony.[citation needed]

Scheduled buses are not allowed to use the Mall and go past Buckingham Palace except by permission of the monarch. This has only happened twice in history; in 1927 and in 1950.[4]