Free for the nation

The National Gallery, London WC2 To mark the re-opening of museums, John Goodall looks at the architecture of the National Gallery, its interior photographed by COUNTRY LIFE during lockdown

- John Goodall

FROM its commanding position above Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is one of the defining landmarks of London. Curiously, the square, which was conceived by the architect John Nash as part of his planned redevelopment of the West End of London from 1813, just predates the institution. Nevertheless, the stories of both are inextricably linked.

Nash’s hugely ambitious proposals aimed to create a new professional way that would connect the garden suburb of Regent’s Park with Charing Cross, at the juncture of the Strand and Whitehall. In 1819, he suggested laying out a square at the termination of this route, clearing away the outer court of the Royal Mews that stood here and creating what he later described as ‘the finest site in London for a public building’.

The site Nash coveted was not—as the modern visitor might assume—the future site of the National Gallery. In 1819, this was the location of the most prominent of the Royal Mews buildings, the Great Mews, so-called, designed by William Kent in 1731–32. Nor was it his intention to build a National Gallery; no such institution existed. Rather, he wanted to erect a Greek temple—modelled on the Parthenon—in the centre of the square, where Nelson’s Column now stands. It was to be a new home for the Royal Academy (RA).