The Mall's Red Carpet Nobody Notices

The Mall in London is a grand avenue leading to Buckingham Palace whose tarmac was surfaced in red synthetic iron oxide in the 1950s to resemble a royal carpet. Selected by Minister of Works David Eccles between 1951 and 1954, the pigment was developed by chemist Ernest Lovell at Deanshanger Oxide Works. Designed in 1911 by architect Sir Aston Webb, the avenue originally served as King Charles II’s sports pitch.

London · from the walk “London Through the Eyes of a Black Cab Driver” · audio ~4 min · Generated

The Mall, London SW1A 2WH

Why is the road surface of The Mall in London coloured red?

Right. Now look at the road beneath your feet. Go ahead, look down. Notice anything? That tarmac isn't grey, it's not black... it's Red. And that, my friend, is one of the best-kept open secrets in London.......... The surface of The Mall has been coloured red since the nineteen fifties, giving the effect of a giant red carpet leading up to Buckingham Palace. Every cabbie worth their badge knows this, but most tourists walk right over it without a second thought. You're standing on the Only road in London that's been deliberately dressed up to look like a carpet fit for a king.......... And here's the detail that even some cabbies don't know. It was David Eccles, as Minister of Works from nineteen fifty-one to nineteen fifty-four, who chose the colour. He didn't just pick any old paint, either. The red was obtained using synthetic iron oxide pigment from Deanshanger Oxide Works, created using a process devised by a chemist named Ernest Lovell. So one man in Northamptonshire invented the chemical recipe that turned a London road into a royal red carpet. Not bad for a bloke in a small village.......... Now, here's a proper cabbie fact for you. 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 nineteen twenty-seven and in nineteen fifty. Both times due to roadworks nearby. So if you ever see a big red double-decker rolling down this road... something has gone very, very wrong. Or very, very right.......... But this road's history goes back much further than the fifties. The walk in Saint James's Park, now called The Mall, received its name from having been appropriated to the purpose of playing at mall, where King Charles the Second himself and his courtiers frequently exercised themselves in this pastime. That's right... this grand avenue was once a Sports Pitch. The game was like a cross between croquet and golf, played with wooden mallets and boxwood balls on a long alley. And that game? It gave us the word "mall"... which is how American shopping centres eventually got their name.......... The Mall we see today was designed in nineteen eleven by Sir Aston Webb, who also designed Admiralty Arch, the Queen Victoria Memorial, and a new frontage for Buckingham Palace. He essentially built the entire stage set. And beneath the road you're standing on right now... there is said to be a network of tunnels connecting Buckingham Palace to Number Ten Downing Street and the Foreign Office. Officially, nobody confirms it. Unofficially... well, every cabbie has a theory.......... One more thing before you take in the view. On Victory in Europe Day, the eighth of May, nineteen forty-five, a vast crowd packed this very road to cheer the King, Queen, and Princess Elizabeth on the Palace balcony. The teenage Princess even snuck out into the crowd that night, walking right here on The Mall, anonymous among the celebrations. Next time you stand on a red carpet... remember, London rolled out the Biggest one first.

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