St James's Park
St James's Park | |
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Location | London, SW1 United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 51°30′09″N 00°08′06″W / 51.50250°N 0.13500°W |
Area | 23 hectares (57 acres) |
Established | 1603 |
Operated by | The Royal Parks |
Public transit access | St James's Park, Green Park, Victoria, and Westminster tube stations |
St James's Park is a 23-hectare (57-acre)
The park is bounded by
The park is Grade I listed on the
Features
The park has a small lake, St James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island and Duck Island, the latter named for the lake's collection of
A resident colony of pelicans has been a feature of the park since a Russian ambassador donated them to Charles II in 1664.[7] While most of the birds' wings are clipped, there is a pelican which can be seen flying, occasionally beyond the confines of the Park.[8]
The Blue Bridge across the lake affords a tree-framed view west towards Buckingham Palace. Looking east, the view includes the Swire Fountain to the north of Duck Island and, past the lake, the grounds of
The species of the trees in the park are an unidentified species of plane trees (possibly London plane trees), Scarlet oak, black mulberry, and an unidentified species of fig tree.[10]
History
In 1532,
While Charles II was in exile in France under the Commonwealth of England, he was impressed by the elaborate gardens at French royal palaces, and on his ascension he had the park redesigned in a more formal style, probably by the French landscaper André Mollet. A 775-metre by 38-metre (850 by 42-yard) ornamental canal was created as evidenced in the old plan. The king opened the park to the public and used the area to entertain guests and mistresses, such as Nell Gwyn. The park became notorious at the time as a meeting place for impromptu acts of lechery, as described by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester in his poem "A Ramble in St James's Park".[12]
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries cows grazed on the park, and milk could be bought fresh at the "Lactarian", described by Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach in 1710.[13] The 18th century saw further changes, including the reclamation of part of the canal for Horse Guards Parade and the purchase of Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) at the west end of the Mall, for the use of Queen Charlotte in 1761.
Further remodelling in 1826–27, commissioned by the Prince Regent (later
Gallery
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André Mollet's design for the park in Charles II's time, before 18th and 19th century remodelling, which shaped a more natural-looking lake from the straight canal visible here, the eastern part of which was filled in to create Horse Guards Parade
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Fashionable people thronging St James's Park, c.1745
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Green Park and St James's Park c.1833
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Duck Island Cottage
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St James's Park Lake, looking northwest, with Buckingham Palace in the background
References
- ^ "St James's Park". Royal Parks. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ a b c "Map of St James's Park". Royal Parks. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ "History and Architecture of St James's Park". Royal Parks. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Historic England, "St James's Park (1000483)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 11 July 2017
- ISBN 978-1-107-03405-1.
- ^ "Duck Island St James's Park". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Pelicans". The Royal Parks.
- ^ "Royal park resident turns nasty and eats neighbour". The Independent. 12 June 1999. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
- ^ "10 of the best parks with playgrounds in Westminster".
- ^ "Trees". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "St James's Park – From pigs to processions". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Rochester. "A Ramble in St. James's Park".
- ISBN 978-0-300-13756-9.
- ^ "The Marble Arch, Marble Arch W1". Historic England. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Queen Victoria Memorial, The Mall SW1". Historic England. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
External links
- Media related to St. James's Park at Wikimedia Commons
- Visitor information at the Royal Parks website