Black Plaques London by John Ambrose Hide

Author:John Ambrose Hide
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The History Press

ADMIRALTY ARCH SW1

NOBODY NOSE

Poking from the stonework in the northern archway of Admiralty Arch, about 7ft above the ground, is a human nose. As umpteen guidebooks cheerfully explain, the addition of such an unusual architectural adornment resulted from a little-known military tradition: when the arch was built in 1912, Britain was still revelling in the defeat of its nemesis Napoleon Bonaparte so by sticking up his nose, cavalrymen could flick their old bogey as they passed by.

Other sources (which at the time of publication notably include the Royal Parks) agree that the protuberance is for the benefit of cavalry, but insist that it is not Boney’s beak but the Duke of Wellington’s – a facial feature for which he was singularly renowned, and the custom involves rubbing it for good luck. However, even a cursory glance reveals that the hooter’s profile is not sufficiently Roman to be the Iron Duke’s, and because the arch was built for the Admiralty not Army, others sniffily point out that it can only belong to Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson because it is significantly easier to rub than the one on the nearby column.

The wrangling over which military leader’s nose to pick is ongoing; however, all agree that the practice is highly secretive – which explains why no one has ever witnessed any military personnel fingering it.

But more phlegmatic investigations soon blow the nose’s identity – it was glued on the arch in 1997 by guerrilla artist Rick Buckley as a creative response to the proliferation of CCTV cameras across London. The impact of his artistic statement, which involved the bestowal of about thirty-five olfactory organs on buildings across Central London (including the Southbank Centre, St Pancras Station, The National Gallery and Tate Britain) was somewhat ineffectual because, perhaps in a desire to keep his nose clean, he kept his involvement in the stunt entirely secret. However, he did manage to pull off this remarkable feat right under the nose of the nascent surveillance state he was critiquing.

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