51°30′15″N0°8′7″W / 51.50417°N 0.13528°W /51.50417; -0.13528
The Mall (/ˈmæl/[1]) is a ceremonial route and roadway in theCity of Westminster,central London, that travels 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) betweenBuckingham Palace at its western end andTrafalgar Square viaAdmiralty Arch to the east. Along the north side of The Mall is green space andSt. James's Palace with other official buildings, and to the south isSt James's Park. Near the east end at Trafalgar Square andWhitehall it is met byHorse Guards Road andSpring Gardens, near the west end at theVictoria Memorial it is met by theConstitution Hill roadway and the Spur Road to the street ofBuckingham Gate. It is closed to traffic on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and on ceremonial occasions.
The Mall began as part of the tended grounds ofSt James's Palace, and whenpall-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 asBerlin,Mexico City,Oslo,Paris,Saint Petersburg,Vienna andWashington, D.C. These routes were intended to be used for major national ceremonies. As part of this development – designed byAston Webb – a new façade was constructed for Buckingham Palace to face down the Mall, and theVictoria 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 joinsConstitution 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, oppositeGreen Park andSt James's Palace, on the north side. Running off The Mall at its eastern end isHorse Guards Parade, where theTrooping 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 syntheticiron oxide pigment fromDeanshanger 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.
OnVictory in Europe Day (8 May 1945), the Palace was the centre of British celebrations, with theKing,Queen andPrincess Elizabeth (the future queen) andPrincess Margaret appearing on the balcony, with the Palace'sblacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd on The Mall.[citation needed]
Duringstate visits, the monarch and the visiting head of state are escorted in astate carriage up The Mall and the street is decorated withUnion Flags and the flags of the visiting head of state's country. During the Golden Jubilee celebrations ofQueen Elizabeth II in 2002, over one million people packed The Mall to watch the public displays and the appearance of theRoyal Family on the palace balcony.[citation needed]
Scheduledbuses are not allowed to use the Mall and go past Buckingham Palace except by permission of themonarch. This has only happened twice in history; in 1927 and in 1950.[4]
The annualLondon Marathon finishes on The Mall.[5] It was also the start and finish line forthe marathon course, theroad race and therace walks of the2012 Olympic andParalympic Games. The women's marathon took place on 5 August and the men's Olympic marathon on 12 August. The men's 20 km walk took place on 4 August, with the men's 50 km walk and women's 20 km walk took place on 11 August. The Paralympic marathons were held on 9 September.[6][7] In recent years the Mall has also been repeatedly used as the finishing line for UK cycling events, including the 2012 Olympics Road Races, the Ride London Prudential Classic in 2013, and stage 3 of the2014 Tour de France. The opening ceremony for the2019 Cricket World Cup was held on The Mall.[8]
During theTrooping the Colour events and other big National events, the Mall is used.
In 1981,Marcus Sarjeant fired six blank shots from astarting pistol nearQueen Elizabeth II as she and her entourage were making their way down the road on horseback forTrooping the Colour. Sarjeant was immediately apprehended and arrested.[9]
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