Royal Parks of London - wikipedia Royal Parks of London Regent 's Park c. 1833 Hyde Park and part of Kensington Gardens c. 1833 Green Park and St. James 's Park c. 1833 The Royal Parks of London are lands originally owned by the monarchy of the United Kingdom for the recreation, mostly hunting, of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown. Contents 1 Parks 2 Legal position 3 Management 3.1 Mayoral control 4 See also 5 References Parks With increasing urbanisation of London, some of these were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public parks with the introduction of the Crown Lands Act 1851. There are today eight parks formally described by this name and they cover almost 2,000 hectares ( 4,900 acres ) of land in Greater London. Bushy Park, 445 hectares ( 1,100 acres ) Green Park, 19 hectares ( 47 acres ) Greenwich Park, 74 hectares ( 180 acres ) Hyde Park, 142 hectares ( 350 acres ) Kensington Gardens, 111 hectares ( 270 acres ) Regent 's Park, 166 hectares ( 410 acres ) Richmond Park, 955 hectares ( 2,360 acres ( 9.6 km ) ) St. James 's Park, 23 hectares ( 57 acres ) Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens ( which are adjacent ), Green Park, Regent 's Park and St James 's Park are the largest green spaces in central London. Bushy Park, Greenwich Park and Richmond Park are in the suburbs. The Royal Parks agency also manages Brompton Cemetery, Grosvenor Square Gardens, Victoria Tower Gardens and the gardens of 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street. Hampton Court Park is also a royal park within Greater London, but, because it contains a palace, it is administered by the Historic Royal Palaces, unlike the eight Royal Parks. Legal position The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favour of The Crown, although there are public rights of way across the land. Until 2017, the Royal Parks Agency managed the Royal Parks under powers derived from section 22 of the Crown Lands Act 1851. As part of its statutory management function the Agency permitted the public to use the Parks for recreational purposes, subject to regulations issued under the Parks Regulation Acts 1872 -- 1926 which were considered necessary to secure proper management, preserve order and prevent abuse within the Parks. The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 then came into effect until a separate charity took over the parks from the Royal Parks Agency. Management The parks were managed by The Royal Parks ( an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ) until a charity - The Royal Parks - launched in July 2017. The parks are policed by the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police ( the English section of the previous force policing the parks, the Royal Parks Constabulary, has been abolished ). The main form of funding for the Royal Parks is a central government grant. This contrasts with most of London 's other parks, which are funded by local borough councils. The Royal Parks generate additional income from commercial activities such as catering and staging public events such as concerts. The Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity which raises funds to protect, support and create new opportunities within the Parks. They have a number of membership schemes such as adoption and champion programmes. Mayoral control In 2010, Mayor of London Boris Johnson proposed that control over the Royal Parks should be devolved to the Greater London Authority and the government put forward proposals for that to happen later on that year. The plan was welcomed by Royal Parks but not implemented. See also The Royal Parks Parks and open spaces in London Walking in London References Jump up ^ Thurston, Hazel. Royal Parks For The People : London 's Ten. UK and USA : David and Charles. Vancouver : Douglas, David and Charles. 1974. ISBN 0 - 7153 - 6454 - 5. Includes listing of the Parks with black - and - white photographic plates. Jump up ^ Royalparks.org.uk Archived 19 May 2011 at WebCite Jump up ^ Royalparks.org.uk Archived 1 February 2010 at WebCite Jump up ^ Royalparks.org.uk Archived 19 May 2011 at WebCite Jump up ^ `` Hyde Park ''. The Royal Parks. Jump up ^ Royalparks.ork.uk Archived 19 May 2011 at WebCite Jump up ^ Royalparks.org.uk Archived 16 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Written answer to the House of Commons from the Head of the Royal Parks Service ''. Publications.parliament.uk. 7 February 2002. Jump up ^ `` Web.archive.org ''. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ Royalparks.org.uk Archived 7 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` What we do ''. Royalparks.org.uk. Jump up ^ Richmond Borough Council Archived 26 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Who we are ''. The Royal Parks. Jump up ^ Mayor 's Proposals for Devolution Archived 26 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Responsibility for London 's Royal Parks to pass to London 's Mayor ''. culture.gov.uk. Jump up ^ Royal Parks sees merger with the mayor 's office as opportunity to boost sponsorship Parks and open spaces in London Royal parks Bushy Green Greenwich Hyde Kensington Regent 's Richmond St James 's Large urban parks Alexandra Arnos Barking Barra Hall Battersea Blackheath Brockwell Burgess Clissold Crystal Palace Dulwich Enfield Town Finsbury Forster Memorial Hampstead Heath Hanworth Holland Mayesbrook Mountsfield Old Deer Parsloes Primrose Hill Pymmes Queen 's Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Ravenscourt Ruskin Southwark Valentines Victoria Wandsworth Wanstead West Ham Wimbledon Country parks Bayhurst Wood Bedfont Lakes Belhus Woods Eastbrookend Fairlop Waters Foots Cray Fryent Hainault Forest Havering High Elms Hornchurch Lee Valley South Norwood Stanmore Stockley Trent Commons Barnes Blackheath Bostall Heath Clapham Ealing East Sheen Hackney Marsh Hainault Forest Ham Hampstead Heath Hayes Keston Mitcham Monken Hadley Peckham Rye Plumstead Stanmore Streatham Sutton Tooting Tylers Wandsworth Wimbledon and Putney Winn 's Woolwich Wormwood Scrubs Village greens Camberwell Islington Kew Newington Parsons Richmond Shepherd 's Bush Turnham Marshes and wetlands Aveley Crayford Erith Hackney Hornchurch Ickenham Ingrebourne Leyton Rainham Tottenham Walthamstow Wennington Woodberry Wetlands WWT London Wetland Centre Woodland Bostall Braeburn Coldfall Copse Dulwich Epping Forest Grangewood Park Highgate Lesnes Abbey Mad Bess Old Park Oxleas Park Petts Queen 's Russia Dock Sydenham Hill House gardens Belair Park Boston Manor Park Broomfield House Cannizaro Park Chiswick House Danson Park Grovelands Park Grove Park Gunnersbury Park Hall Place Hampton Court Park Hillingdon Court Kenwood House Lamorbey Park Langtons Manor House Gardens Marble Hill Park Morden Hall Park Morden Park Osterley Park Syon House Valence House Museum Walpole Park Entry - fee charging Kew Gardens London Wetland Centre Community gardens Phoenix Garden Parks and open spaces by London borough Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth City of Westminster London landmarks Buildings and structures Bridges Albert Bridge Blackfriars Bridge Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges Lambeth Bridge London Bridge Millennium Footbridge Southwark Bridge Tower Bridge Vauxhall Bridge Waterloo Bridge Westminster Bridge Entertainment venues Cinemas Empire, Leicester Square BFI IMAX Odeon, Leicester Square Football stadia Wembley Stadium ( national stadium ) Craven Cottage ( Fulham ) The Den ( Millwall ) Emirates Stadium ( Arsenal ) Loftus Road ( Queens Park Rangers ) London Stadium ( West Ham United ) Selhurst Park ( Crystal Palace ) Stamford Bridge ( Chelsea ) The Valley ( Charlton Athletic ) White Hart Lane ( Tottenham Hotspur ) Other major sports venues All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The Championship Course ( rowing ) Crystal Palace National Sports Centre Lord 's ( cricket ) Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park The Oval ( cricket ) Twickenham Stadium ( rugby ) Theatres Adelphi Apollo Victoria Coliseum Criterion Dominion Lyceum Old Vic Palladium Royal National Theatre Royal Opera House Shakespeare 's Globe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Theatre Royal Haymarket Vaudeville Other Alexandra Palace Brixton Academy ExCeL Hammersmith Apollo O2 Arena Royal Albert Hall Royal Festival Hall Wembley Arena Government 10 Downing Street Admiralty Arch Bank of England City Hall County Hall Guildhall Horse Guards Mansion House National Archives Old Bailey Palace of Westminster Royal Courts of Justice Scotland Yard SIS Building Museums and galleries British Museum Cutty Sark Golden Hinde HMS Belfast Imperial War Museum Madame Tussauds Museum of London National Gallery National Maritime Museum Natural History Museum Royal Academy of Arts Royal Observatory Science Museum Tate Britain Tate Modern Tower of London Victoria and Albert Museum Places of worship All Hallows - by - the - Tower BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Bevis Marks Synagogue Methodist Central Hall Regent 's Park Mosque St Martin - in - the - Fields St Mary - le - Bow St Paul 's Cathedral Southwark Cathedral Westminster Abbey Westminster Cathedral Retailing Shops Fortnum & Mason Hamleys Harrods Liberty Peter Jones Selfridges Shopping centres and markets Borough Market Brent Cross Burlington Arcade Kensington Arcade Leadenhall Market The Mall Wood Green One New Change Petticoat Lane Market Royal Exchange Westfield London Westfield Stratford City Royal buildings Partly occupied by the Royal Family Buckingham Palace Clarence House Kensington Palace St James 's Palace Unoccupied Banqueting House Hampton Court Palace Kew Palace The Queen 's Gallery Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace Skyscrapers Broadgate Tower 1 Canada Square 8 Canada Square 25 Canada Square 1 Churchill Place 20 Fenchurch Street Heron Tower Leadenhall Building The Shard St George Wharf Tower 30 St Mary Axe Tower 42 Structures Albert Memorial ArcelorMittal Orbit Big Ben Cleopatra 's Needle Crystal Palace transmitting station London Eye London Wall Marble Arch The Monument Nelson 's Column Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain ( `` Eros '' ) Thames Barrier Wellington Arch Transport City Airport Heathrow Airport Charing Cross station Clapham Junction station Euston station King 's Cross station Liverpool Street station London Bridge station Paddington station St Pancras station Stratford station Victoria station Waterloo station Victoria Coach Station Emirates Air Line cable car Other Barbican Estate Battersea Power Station British Library BT Tower Kew Gardens Lambeth Palace Lloyd 's building London Zoo Oxo Tower St Bartholomew 's Hospital Smithfield Market Somerset House Parks Royal Parks Bushy Park Green Park Greenwich Park Hampton Court Park Hyde Park Kensington Gardens Regent 's Park Richmond Park St. James 's Park Other Battersea Park Burgess Park Clapham Common College Green Epping Forest Finsbury Park Gunnersbury Park Hampstead Heath Holland Park Mitcham Common Osterley Park Trent Park Victoria Park Wandsworth Common Wimbledon Common Squares and public spaces Covent Garden Horse Guards Parade Leicester Square Parliament Square Piccadilly Circus Sloane Square Trafalgar Square Streets Aldwych Baker Street Bishopsgate Bond Street Carnaby Street Charing Cross Road Cheapside Cornhill Denmark Street Fenchurch Street Fleet Street Haymarket Jermyn Street Kensington High Street King 's Road Lombard Street The Mall Oxford Street Park Lane Piccadilly Portobello Road Regent Street Shaftesbury Avenue Sloane Street Strand Tottenham Court Road Victoria Embankment Whitehall Coordinates : 51 ° 30 ′ 29 '' N 0 ° 09 ′ 55 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 51.5081 ° N 0.1654 ° W ﻿ / 51.5081 ; - 0.1654 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Parks_of_London&oldid=843719476 '' Categories : Royal Parks of London Parks and open spaces in London Walking in London Hidden categories : Webarchive template webcite links Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from May 2016 Coordinates not on Wikidata Use dmy dates from November 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 עברית Nederlands Norsk Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Türkçe Українська 中文 13 more Edit links This page was last edited on 31 May 2018, at 00 : 42 ( UTC ). 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Question: how many royal parks are there in london
Answer: eight