St. Jame's Park This picturesque haven of tranquility in central London is surrounded by three royal palaces and the remains of a fourth. It was originally a marshy area on which St. Jame's hospital stood. King Henry V111 acquired the land, turned it into a deer park and built St. Jame's Palace. His daughter, Elzabeth 1 made it into a centre for pageantry and fetes of all kinds. Charles 11 had the area remodelled on French lines and opened the park to the public. He sometimes mingled with his subjects and fed the ducks. The park served as a back drop for many a Restoration comedy. When the Duke of Buckingham... continued below ....

St. James Park District and Circle lines Back to tour list Back to London index Britain guide

.... built Buckingham House at the Western end of The Mall the monarchy was furious as it dowjngraded St James' Palace. George III bought him out and the long process of building Buckingham Palace began

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The long triumphal road, The Mall, was created in 1660 and replaced the Pall Mall. It was actually an alley for an ancient game called Paile Maile which went out of fashion about 100 years later. The public were always allowed to walk The Mall, and the park has always seemed to have had this extraordinarty tradition of allowing the public to mingle with royalty

Built in 1910 from a design by Sir Aston Webb, the gate in the central arch is only opened on ceremonial occasions.

The Buckingham Palace Detour
St. Jame's Park GO	Horse Guards GO	Guards GO	Buckingham Palace GO

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