The central gates of the marble arch, facing Buckingham Palace, were put up in the summer of 1837: they were designed and cast by Samuel Parker, then of Argyll-place—they are the largest and most superb in Europe, not excepting the gates of the Ducal Palace at Venice, or of the Louvre at Paris. Their material is a beautiful alloy, the base of which is refined copper. Although cast, their enriched foliage and scroll-work bear the elaborate finish of the finest chasing: the height of each gate is twenty-five feet; width, seventeen feet, six inches; extreme thickness, three inches; weight of each, two tons, thirteen cwt.; yet, they are so beautifully hung, that a child might open and shut them. They now terminate at the springing of the arch; but Mr. Parker had cast for the heading a chaste frieze, and a design of the royal arms in the central circle, flanked by state crowns: this portion was, however, irretrievably mutilated by the Government removing the gates from the foundry in a common stage-waggon, without due care to prevent their breakage; yet the work cost, altogether, 3000 guineas!