Section and Plan of a Gateway to Westminster at Hyde Park Corner

A plan and elevation, in ink, of a proposed gateway to Westminster at Hyde Park Corner dated to November 1778. A manuscript accompanying the drawing describes the design: 'a Great Arch in the centre with the Toll gatherers Lodge, and Weigh House for wagons on each side, with foot passages at each end, according to the Plan and Elevation, both fronts being proposed nearly alike'. A manuscript estimates the total expense is £4071. This design is one of two by Robert Adam who in 1778 proposed triumphal arch as a gateway to Hyde Park and Green Park. There were other proposals such as one by Jeffrey Wyatt in 1794. It was not until the 1820s that an arch and park entrance was built, this time a design by Decimus Burton.