St. James's Park

St. James's Park Lake, looking northwest, with Buckingham Palace in the background

Duck Island Cottage

Fashionable people thronging St James's Park, c.1745

Green Park and St. James's Park c.1833

St. James's Park is a 23 hectare (58 acre)^[1] park in the City of Westminster, central London - the oldest of the Royal Parks of London.^[2] The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.

Geographical location[link]

St. James's Park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St. James's Palace to the North, Horse Guards to the east, and Birdcage Walk to the south. The park has a small lake, St. James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island, and Duck Island, which is named for the lake's collection of waterfowl. This includes a resident colony of pelicans, which has been a feature of the park since the first gift of the birds from a Russian ambassador in 1664. A bridge across the lake affords a view of Buckingham Palace framed by trees and fountains, and a view of the main building of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, similarly framed, to the east.

The park is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of parks that also comprise (moving westward) Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The closest London Underground stations are St. James's Park, Victoria, and Westminster.

History[link]

In 1532, Henry VIII purchased from Eton College an area of marshland, through which the Tyburn flowed. This land lay to the West of York Place, recently acquired by Henry from Cardinal Wolsey; it was purchased in order to turn York Palace into a dwelling fit for a king. On James I's accession to the throne in 1603, he ordered that the park be drained and landscaped, and kept exotic animals in the park, including camels, crocodiles, and an elephant, as well as aviaries of exotic birds along the south.

During Charles II's exile in France under the Commonwealth of England, the young king was impressed by the elaborate gardens at French royal palaces, and on his ascension had the park redesigned in a more formal style, probably by the French landscaper André Mollet. This included the creation of the 775 by 38 metre (850 by 42 yard) canal visible in the old plan. Charles II opened the park to the public, as well as using the area to entertain guests and mistresses, such as Nell Gwyn. The park was notorious at the time as a meeting place for acts of degeneracy, of which John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester wrote in his poem A Ramble in St. James's Park.

In the late 17th and early 18th century cows were grazed on the park, and milk could be bought fresh at the "Lactarian", described by Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach in 1710.^[3]

The 18th century saw further changes, including the reclamation of part of the canal for Horse Guards Parade and the 1761 purchase of Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) at the west end of the Mall, for the use of Queen Charlotte.

Further remodelling in 1826–7, commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV) and overseen by the architect and landscaper John Nash, saw the straight canal's conversion to a more naturally-shaped lake, and formal avenues rerouted to romantic winding pathways. At the same time, Buckingham House was expanded to create the current palace and Marble Arch was built at its entrance, whilst The Mall was turned into a grand processional route, opened to public traffic 60 years later in 1887, the Marble Arch having been moved to its current location at the junction of Oxford Street and Park Lane in 1851 and replaced with the Victoria Memorial between 1906 and 1924.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: St. James's Park

• St. James's Park RoyalParks.gov

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Coordinates: 51°30′6″N 0°7′55″W / 51.50167°N 0.13194°W / 51.50167; -0.13194

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Coordinates: 51°30′31″N 0°07′59″W / 51.5085°N 0.1330°W / 51.5085; -0.1330

St James's
St James's  St James's shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ295805
London borough	Westminster
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	West Central
List of places: UK • England • London

St James's is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. It is bounded to the north by Piccadilly, to the west by Green Park, to the south by The Mall and St. James's Park and to the east by Haymarket.

History[link]

St James's was once part of the same royal park as Green Park and St. James's Park. In the 1660s, Charles II gave the right to develop the area to Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, who proceeded to develop it as a predominantly aristocratic residential area with a grid of streets centred on St James's Square.

Until the Second World War, St James's remained one of the most exclusive residential enclaves in London. Famous residences in St James's include St James's Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House, Lancaster House, Spencer House, Schomberg House and Bridgewater House. It is now a predominantly commercial area with some of the highest rents in London and, consequently, the world. Corporate offices in St James's include the global headquarters of BP. The auction house Christie's is based in King Street, and the surrounding streets contain a great many upmarket art and antique dealers.

St James's is also the home of many of the best known gentlemen's clubs in London, and is sometimes, though not as often as formerly, referred to as "Clubland".^[1] The "clubs" found here are organisations of English high society. A variety of groups congregate here, such as royals, military officers, motoring enthusiasts, and other groups. In 1990, the Carlton Club, traditional meeting place for members of the Conservative Party, was struck by an IRA bomb. See List of London's gentlemen's clubs. In a similar vein, the area is also home to fine wine merchants including Berry Brothers and Rudd, at number 3 St James's Street. Adjoining St James's Street is Jermyn Street, famous for its many tailors. St James's is also famous for being home to some of the most famous cigar retailers in London. At 35 St James's Street is Davidoff of London, 19 St James's Street is home to J.J. Fox and 50 Jermyn St has Dunhill; this makes the area a Cuban cigar haven.

BP head office in St. James's

White Cube gallery in Mason's Yard, St James's

The area has a good number of art galleries, covering a spectrum of tastes. The White Cube gallery, which represents Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, had originally opened in Duke Street, St James's, then moved to Hoxton Square. In September 2006, it opened a second gallery in St James's at 25–26 Mason's Yard, off Duke Street, on a plot previously occupied by an electricity sub-station. The gallery is the first free-standing building to be built in the St James's area for more than 30 years.

Notable streets[link]

These include:

• St James's Square, which retains many of its original houses, but is mostly in office use. The London Library is located here.
• Jermyn Street, an upmarket retail street best known for its bespoke shirtmakers and shops offering the finest gentlemen's attire.
• Pall Mall, which contains many of London's most venerable gentlemen's clubs.
• Haymarket was once the best known centre of prostitution in London, but no trace of this remains now. It contains two of London's most historic theatres, the Haymarket Theatre and Her Majesty's Theatre.
• Carlton House Terrace, a pair of grand terraces of houses designed by John Nash overlooking St. James's Park.
• St James's Street which runs down from Piccadilly to St James's Palace.

Economy[link]

BP is headquartered in St. James's.^[2]

Education[link]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2009)

External links[link]

London portal

• St James Westminster, Part 1 - a volume of the Survey of London which provides a very detailed architectural history of most of St James's. However a few sections of the parish of St James's fall outside the district, so they are omitted (map).
• Map of St James's and surrounding areas
• Clubland at Virtual London
• Tourist Information on St James's

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James Park
Depiction of the Relief of Lucknow
Born	1835 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	14 June 1858 (aged 22-23) Lucknow, British India
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Bengal Army
Years of service	† 1858
Rank	Corporal
Unit	Bengal Artillery
Battles/wars	Indian Mutiny
Awards	Victoria Cross

James Park VC (1835 – 14 June 1858) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details[link]

Park was approximately 22 years old, and a gunner in the Bengal Artillery, Bengal Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deeds took place at the Relief of Lucknow for which he was awarded the VC:

Elected respectively, under the 13th clause of the Royal Warrant of the 29th of January, 1856, by the Officers and non-commissioned officers generally, and by the private soldiers of each troop or battery, for conspicuous gallantry at the relief of Lucknow, from the 14th to the 22nd of November, 1857.^[1]

He was killed in action in Lucknow, British India on 14 June 1858.

References[link]

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)

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