Named for the Doric order that forms its architectural style, this small monument was erected in 1767 in honor of Princess Amelia (1711-86), second daughter of George II and sister of George III, who was a frequent visitor to Stowe and a close friend of Lady Temple. A small attic storey is embellished on the east side by a medallion and a quotation from Horace: O colenda semper & culta!, ("O, thou worthy of every honor, and ever honored"), and on the west by the dedication Amaeliae Sophiae Aug. Horace Walpole reported in a letter to George Montague that the Princess was so delighted with her Arch that she visited it four or five times a day when both she and Walpole were at Stowe during July 1770. Such behavior might seem egocentric, but it is important to remember that all of the garden buildings take on a different aspect in different light and weather. The Doric Arch, for example, receives the morning light on one side and the afternoon and evening light on the other.
Walpole himself was impressed with the Arch, describing the view pictured above in the same letter as follows: "You come to [the Arch] on a sudden, and are startled with delight on looking through it: you at once see through a glade the river winding at the bottom; from which a thicket rises, arched over with trees, but opened, and discovering a hillock full of haycocks, beyond which in front is the Palladian bridge, and again over that, a larger hill crowned with the castle. It is a tall landscape, framed by the arch and the overbowering trees, and comprehending more beauties of light, shade, and buildings, than any picture of Albano I ever saw." Walking through the Arch from this direction allows the visitor to enter the Elysian Fields from the southwest.

When the Arch was built, it also served to frame a group of statues just inside the Elysian Fields, Apollo and the Nine Muses. Looking back through the Arch to the west, one would see the statues of Princess Amelia's parents, King George II and Queen Caroline just across the parterre. Although the Queen's monument was subsequently moved to the western side of the Home Park, the King's Pillar has been restored to its original place and form.....
faculty.bsc.edu/jtatter/doric.html

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 150 m

Weather

Today

Wednesday 22 October

13°C

9°C

0 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 7.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Stowe, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, South East England, England, United Kingdom

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Pegg's Terrace

Temple of Ancient Virtue

Penyston Chapel

Fane of Pastoral Poetry

Buckingham Old Gaol

New Inn Visitor Centre

Dido's Cave

Stowe Avenue Gates

Shell Bridge, Stowe Gardens

Palladian Bridge, Stowe

Bridgeman’s Ha-Ha at Stowe Gardens

St. Edmund's Church, Maids Moreton

Doric Arch, Stowe Gardens

1. Palladian Bridge at Stowe – Temple of Friendship loop from Dadford

2. Palladian Bridge at Stowe – Palladian Bridge, Stowe loop from Mount Pleasant

3. Temple of British Worthies – Palladian Bridge, Stowe loop from Buckingham

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️