The Serpentine

The Serpentine began as a daring experiment in landscape design commissioned by Queen Caroline in the seventeen thirties. Before its creation, the area consisted of several small, marshy ponds fed by the River Westbourne. The Queen ordered these ponds to be dammed and reshaped into a single, curving body of water. This decision broke with the tradition of formal, straight canals common in royal gardens at the time. By choosing a design that mimicked the organic flow of a natural river, the project helped launch the English landscape garden movement that soon spread across the country.