The Winslow mail., 1911-05-13


" III make decided changes in ST.
James Park, partly in connec-
ton with the placing of the King Ed
ward memorial A storm of protests
has arisen and some Of the Improve
ments" doubtless will be abandoned,
but the committee in charge adhereS
to it's determination to remove the
famous iron suspension bridge and
substitute one of stone. This is de-
nounced as a "wickedly Philistine
project"
In Norman times what is now ST.
James Park was a lonely expanse Of
fields and woodlands surrounding
hospital for fourteen lepers. The in
stitution was dedicated to ST. James
Many generations of "leper maydens"
shook their cups and platters to So
licit aims from the wayfarers who
passed their solitary abode, before
Henry VIII cast covetous eyes upon
their woodland domain. He desired
to convert it into grounds for VOL
sey's palace of Whitehall, which he
had lately appropriated The leper
sisters received notice to quit and
were granted sum in compensation
The hospital was razed to the ground
and upon the site Henry erected the
palace, or, as it was then termed, the
Manor House of st. James" Thither
he brought his new queen, Anne Bo-
leyn, and in the bright spring morn
ings they rode forth a-Maying with a
gay cavalcade over uninterrupted
country to Hampstead.
st. James Park attained it's full
glory under the Stuarts as fashion
able promenade and beautiful pleas
ure ground The Sieur de la Serre
described the palace and park in
glowing terms when he visited the
court of Charles I and Henrietta
Maria. He was lost in admiration of
the two great grand gardens" plant
ed with fruit trees and bounded by ga
great park" filled with deer. Across
this same park Charles was taken to
Whitehall for execution.
After the Restoration, Charles IL,
although he did not occupy st. James
palace, made a hobby of beautifying
the park and gardens. Pepys was an
enthusiastic chronicler of the great
and noble alterations" and was con-
stantly "to the park to see how they
were progressing. He speaks of the
engines at work drawing up the wa
ter to make the lake, of the physique
Garden" which was planted Of the
kings aviary and the wild fowl which
he kept, and liked to feed.
Skating was first introduced into
this country by the cavaliers of the
merry monarch on the canal of St.
James Park during the severe win
ter of 1862, and at the ST. James
promenades gentlemen were first seen
wearing muffs." Smoking was not
. tolerated in the park. Charles II and
| Catherine of Braganza rode there
daily in "a most elegant manner
The grand promenade was at the east
end of the Mall, in front of the Horse
! Guards. The Mall was then a smooth
| hollow walk, bordered by box and
used for the game of Nell, which gave
| it it's name. The duke of York made
the game fashionable and was TIE
leader in an animated scene of cava-
liers chattering, laughing and salut
ing as they essayed to throw the ball
through the iron ring hanging from a
post.
The park of that period was beau
tiful enclosure of grass and trees in
tersected by winding walks and trav
ersed by canal, at one end Of. which
the king had constructed his duck
| island and decoy He had also an
aviary, which gave the name to Bird
cage walk. At the southeast end OF
the canal was Rosamond's pond, a no
torious place for assignatiGus and
their corollary, suicides. 1t was wood