Historic Buildings

Rescuing Byron

We aim to leverage the public interest shown in the Romantic poet Lord Byron in this bicentenary year of his death. To open up the story and the works of this London-born cultural icon to a broader public, we need to move the capital's forgotten and at-risk Byron Memorial, erected in 1880, from its hidden position on a Park Lane traffic island into a prominent location in Hyde Park, near Victoria Gate. Once it is accessible and has new interpretation on site, accompanied by online access and a variety of digital and on-the-ground engagement activities aimed at a range of audiences, the memorial will gain a new lease of life. Byron will become a major London landmark in celebration of English literature of the Romantic period and visitors to Hyde Park will be able to simultaneously engage with the natural environment and have a personal poetic encounter.