# Talk:Hyde Park, London

This article indicates that the name "Rotten Row" is a corruption of "Route du Roi." However, the article on Rotten Row claims there is no evidence as to this postulation. I'm not going to remove it, but anyone's input on that claim would be useful. mcclth (talk) 14:04, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

I've rewritten the para to make it clear that there is a variety of possible antecedants, with references over 100 years old. - Pointillist (talk) 14:50, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Someone on WP:RDH asked what the origin of the park's name is, and the article doesn't say. I did some research, and propose to add the following:

A small manor named Hyde is mentioned in the Domesday Book, part of the larger manor of Eia(ref1); the name Hyde probably derives from the Anglo Saxon unit of land taxation, the hyde.(ref2)
where ref1= Old and New London: Volume 4 by Edward Walford, says of the area "About the time of Domesday Book, the manor of Eia was divided into three smaller manors, called, respectively, Neyte, Eabury, and Hyde. The latter still lives and flourishes as a royal park, under its ancient name, no doubt of Saxon origin".
and ref2= "Hyde", Oxford Book of British Place Names, ed A.D.Mills, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9
I appreciate that ancient names can have different, equally likely and well-sourced, explanations, so I thought I'd run this past y'all before adding it. 87.113.26.43 (talk) 12:14, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Doesn't make sense!  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.247.85.30 (talk) 12:39, 31 May 2012 (UTC) 

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Pink floyd live 8 london.jpg
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:52, 12 February 2020 (UTC)

Hi, everyone.
I propose that this article include a list of all the important buildings in the park.  Satellite photos show many, yet apparently most of these are not mentioned in this article.
Incidentally:  In late May of 1997, I took several photos in Hyde Park.  My contemporaneous notes describe the location as "near to the building w/ the big log bench in Hyde Park, London".  I vaguely recall that bench, but have not found anything about it online and don't know what building it was near.  Can anyone here shed any light on this mystery?
Are there also certain benches in the park that are worth mentioning at Wikipedia?
President Lethe (talk) 01:41, 4 December 2021 (UTC)

The article includes the statement Hyde Park is the largest Royal Park in central London.... However, the list at Royal Parks of London shows that Regent's Park, also in central London, is larger. I don't have full access to source cited in the following sentence, but can see through previews that it describes Hyde Park as the "largest of the Royal Parks". It doesn't qualify that statement with "in central London" the way the article does. Since Bushy Park and Richmond Park are much larger, the source may be using a different definition of "Royal Parks" that excludes Regent's Park, Bushy Park, and Richmond Park. This should be clarified in the article.--Trystan (talk) 15:00, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

I suspect the comment of Hyde Park being the largest is because it and Kensington Gardens are often regarded as a single space, being adjacent. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 15:14, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
That could be, though I am not sure how it would be worded in the article to clarify that it is not just Hyde Park being considered. It still wouldn't explain the unqualified "largest of the Royal Parks" statement in the source, though, since Bushy and Richmond are far larger than the combined Hyde-Kensington area.--Trystan (talk) 15:23, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
Bushy and Richmond are not in central London, which is the claim. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 20:47, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
The source doesn't say "in central London"; it just says Hyde Park is the largest of the Royal Parks. The "in central London" qualifier was added a few years ago when someone pointed out Richmond is larger. However, that adjustment doesn't address that Regent's is also larger than Hyde.--Trystan (talk) 21:00, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
The source given is The London Encyclopedia edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert which states on page 423 "Hyde Park W1, W2, SW7. The largest of the Royal parks, covers 340 acres between Bayswater Road in the north and Knightsbridge in the South". Wikipedia is based off information given in reliable sources per the verifiability policy - Wikipedia does not publish original research. Its content is determined by previously published information rather than editors' beliefs, opinions, or experiences." Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 11:29, 12 June 2023 (UTC)

Other sources disagree, which is the problem. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 11:37, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
Where and what are these sources? Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 11:38, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
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 km2))
St. James's Park, 23 hectares (57 acres)

Murgatroyd49 (talk) 11:41, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
I can't see anything in those sources that contradicts the London Encyclopedia, which I consider a definitive source for London streets and architecture. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 11:44, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
Then try New Royal Parks site Murgatroyd49 (talk) 11:52, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
That just says that Bushy Park is the second largest. Nothing about Hyde Park. A source that starts "Get active with a gentle stroll, outdoor swim or bike ride. Connect with nature in some of the capital’s largest open spaces and most valuable habitats for wildlife. Enjoy world-class concerts, year-round events and community projects." doesn't sound as good as an established and notable encyclopaedia. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 11:54, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
If you look at the individual pages it gives the size of each, from which it is easy to see that Hyde Park is not the largest Royal Park. For whatever reason, the London Encyclopaedia is wrong, possibly because it relied on out of date information or was just sloppily worded, possibly both. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 12:52, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
I can't see anything in those sources that contradicts the London Encyclopedia... I think we can take the official website for the Royal Parks to be a highly reliable source for their size, and I wouldn't exactly consider it original research to observe the Hyde Park's size is smaller than Richmond Park, Bushy Park, and Regent's Park. Where sources conflict, we can highlight that in the article, or leave it out entirely. It would be ridiculous to say, "According to the London Encyclopedia, Hyde Park is the largest of the Royal Parks, though the official Royal Parks website lists its size as fourth largest." We should just change the sentence to something like, "Hyde Park is a large Royal Park in central London."--Trystan (talk) 13:04, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
I'd go for the more neutral "Hyde Park is a Royal Park in central London." Murgatroyd49 (talk) 19:57, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
That works for me.--Trystan (talk) 13:10, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
I've made the appropriate changes Murgatroyd49 (talk) 14:07, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
I see that Alanscottwalker has changed it back again to "the largest" without discussing it here. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 16:01, 5 July 2023 (UTC)
I did not see this discussion, but I think the sentence I wrote, says it's the largest in the chain of parks from Kensington Palace Gardens to St James P. in Westminster. (at any rate, that's what my edit meant to say).Alanscottwalker (talk) 20:04, 5 July 2023 (UTC) I think I just further clarified it. Alanscottwalker (talk) 20:34, 5 July 2023 (UTC)
Looks good; I think the clarified wording is helpful.--Trystan (talk) 22:53, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

I propose that the top photo be changed as it really is a picture of Kensington Gardens with Hyde Park in the background, rather than the other way round (as per the description) 84.64.29.167 (talk) 06:43, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Can you find a better one? Murgatroyd49 (talk) 08:51, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
There are a bunch in commons:Category:Aerial photographs of Hyde Park, London, but I'm not sure any are as good a quality as this one.
 Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 09:20, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
That's the problem, I've tried tweaking a couple but the results are mediocre. They appear to be taken through the window of an aircraft, the latter not being the best optical device available. Really needs a good drone shot but that is a very difficult thing to accomplish in Central London, especially in the current situation. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 09:37, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
As a followup, I've checked the online drone map and Hyde Park is a prohibited area. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 09:43, 12 January 2024 (UTC)