Memorial to the Great Exhibition

The monument standing before you is the official Memorial to the Great Exhibition of eighteen fifty-one. While it honors the massive international fair that once occupied nearby Hyde Park, its primary focus shifted shortly after its creation to serve as a tribute to Prince Albert, the exhibition's chief organizer. The sculptor Joseph Durham originally designed the monument to commemorate the event itself, but following the Prince's premature death in eighteen sixty-one, a statue of Albert was added to the top to anchor the site as a personal memorial to his leadership.