Marble Arch to Edgware

John Betjeman takes in a number of sites on his 1968 trip down the Edgware Road, including a visit to Marble Arch where he discovers its fascinating past. The first image in the gallery comes from the original listing in the Radio Times on 31 January 1968.

• 

  A stretch of 'urban wasteland'

  From the Radio Times on 31 January 1968

• 

  A view from above

  The Edgware Road as it was in 1968

• 

  Marble Arch was once a fully equipped police station

  The arch was moved to its present spot in 1851 from its original site at Buckingham Palace

• 

  John Betjeman emerges from a trap door on the roof of Marble Arch

  Here the police would gather to monitor Speakers' Corner from above

• 

  100 policemen could be accommodated inside the arch...

  ...ready to rush out should there be any trouble at Speakers' Corner