Al Fresco & Wild · London, Greater London
The Serpentine Bathing Place
Spice 1/5 · Chilled
The Serpentine placed outdoor swimming in the ceremonial centre of London, turning public bathing and the visible body into part of everyday metropolitan life.
The story
Hyde Park's Serpentine has a long association with bathing and organised swimming, including the Serpentine Swimming Club. Its relevance here is not that swimming is inherently erotic, but that access to uncovered bodies in public was repeatedly negotiated through rules of class, gender, propriety and safety. Contemporary swimming is confined to designated arrangements, so historic custom is not current access advice.
Visiting today
The Serpentine is a 40 acre recreational lake in Hyde Park, created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline. Hyde Park is a 350 acre Grade I listed Royal Park in Westminster.
- Council
- Westminster
- Ward
- Hyde Park
- County
- Greater London
- Region
- London
- Nation
- England
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster
- OS grid reference
- TQ 273 800
Landmarks nearby
- Diana Memorial Fountain · 0.4 km — Memorial fountain, opened in 2004
- Albert Memorial · 0.9 km — Gothic Revival memorial by Gilbert Scott
- Kensington Palace · 1.5 km — Royal residence in Kensington Gardens
Sources
Nearby on the map
Oscar Wilde was arrested at the Cadogan Hotel on the evening of 5 April 1895, in a room now generally identified as 118; hotel tradition dates it to 6 April. Betjeman immortalised the scene, and royal mistress Lillie Langtry also lived on the site.
Documented historyHot spotNotable LandmarksFirst Ann Summers ShopLondon, Greater London · EnglandSpice 4/5 · HotThe Edgware Road sex shop that launched the Ann Summers name in 1970 was aimed chiefly at men. Jacqueline Gold's women-led party-plan model from 1981 transformed it into a mainstream retail empire.
Documented historyNotable LandmarksThe Gateways ClubLondon, Greater London · EnglandSpice 3/5 · SimmeringBehind a green door at 239 King's Road, the Gateways became what English Heritage calls London's best-known and longest-lived lesbian social venue. It introduced a women-only policy in 1967, closed in September 1985, and received an English Heritage blue plaque on 2 July 2025.
Documented historyHot spotSpotted an error, or hold a better source? Write to marquis@marquisdemayfair.com — corrections are made, never defended. Our methodology.