46 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 
people’s route, passing quietly down to the Strand and 
through the City. 
The occasion of the Reform Bill riot in 1831, when 
the windows were smashed in Apsley House, is well 
known, and from 1855 to 1866 Hyde Park witnessed 
many turbulent demonstrations. The first occasion was 
in July 1855 against Lord Robert Grosvenor’s “Sunday 
Trading Bill,” when some 150,000 people assembled, 
and various scenes of disturbance took place. More or 
less serious riots were of frequent occurrence, until they 
culminated in the Reform League riot in July 1866, 
when the railings between Marble Arch and Grosvenor 
Gate “ were entirely demolished, and the flower-beds 
were ruined.” The flower-beds had not been long in 
existence when they were wantonly damaged by the mob. 
The idea of introducing flowers into the Park began 
about i860, and the long rows of beds between Stanhope 
Gate and Marble Arch were made about that time, when 
Mr. Cowper Temple was First Commissioner of Works. 
They were made when “ bedding out ” was at the height 
of its fashion, when the one idea was to have large, glaring 
patches of bright flowers as dazzling as possible, or minute 
and intricate patterns carried out in carpet bedding. Now 
this plan has been considerably modified. The process of 
alteration has been slow, and the differences in some cases 
subtle, but the old stiffness and crudeness has been 
banished for ever. The harmony of colours, and variety 
of plants used, are the principal features in the present 
bedding out. It seems right that the Royal Parks 
should lead the way in originality and beauty, and 
undoubted success is frequently achieved, although 
even the style of to-day has its opponents. The chief 
objection from the more practical gardeners is the 
