4 out of 5 stars Time Out says St James's Park was founded as a deer park for the royal occupants of St James's Palace, and remodelled by John Nash on the orders of George IV. The central lake is home to numerous species of wildfowl, including pelicans that have been kept here since the 17th century, when the Russian ambassador donated several of the bag-jawed birds to Charles II. The pelicans are fed between 2.30pm and 3pm daily, though they have been known to supplement their diet at other times of the day with the occasional pigeon. The bridge over the lake offers very snappable views of Buckingham Palace (head that way and you'll see Green Park, the beginning of a relaxing stroll that will take you under trees as far as Hyde Park Corner). Along the north side of the park, the Mall connects Buckingham Palace with Trafalgar Square. It looks like a classic processional route, but the Mall was actually laid out as a pitch for Charles II to play 'paille-maille' (an early version of croquet imported from France) after the pitch at Pall Mall became too crowded.

On the south side of the St James's Park, Wellington Barracks contains the Guards Museum; to the east, Horse Guards contains the Household Cavalry Museum. Visit Horse Guards Parade in London > See all events at Horse Guards Horse Guards Parade is the large open space that lies at the eastern end of St. James’s Park . One side lays open to the park, and the other enters into Whitehall . This part is usually guarded by two cavalrymen of the Household Division – a ghostly throwback to its days as a Palace, even though all that remains of Whitehall Palace today is Banqueting House across the road. A favourite pastime of tourists everywhere is to try and make them smile. (Not an easy thing to do!) The parade ground itself is bordered by an assortment of historical buildings, and the iron-gated entrance to Downing Street . It is also home to numerous statues of military generals, including Lord Kitchener ( Your Country Needs You! ) and the Queen’s cousin Lord Mountbatten (killed by the IRA in 1979).

Household Cavalry, and Trooping the Colour Horse Guards’ Barracks still house around forty mounted sentries of the Royal Guard, used to defend the Queen at the other end of The Mall . There are two regiments in total – the Life Guards (red coat and white-plumed helmet), and the Blues and Royals (blue coat and a red-plumed helmet). You can see two on either side of the gate, and they change around every hour between 10 AM PM . The most famous event to take place on Horse Guards Parade is Trooping the Colour, which always falls on the Queen’s official birthday. It first took place in 1755 and has been a regular event since 1805. Its origins lie in the parading of the troop’s colours in front of the soldiery, so that they would know where to rally on the battlefield. glenking – “Definitely worth a look, as its close to trafalgar square and buckingham palace, but its really just a big empty courtyard. There's nothing actually in it, just some nice buildings and architecture around the sides.

I’ve never been there when there's been anything on, like trooping the colour, and I can imagine how that would be quite a sight, but if you go on a cold rainy day in November like I did, then expect to stay just a few minutes before you move on. A tip: dont forget the little walkway under the arch that leads onto whitehall where the soldiers stand. It's in the middle, and its a good little shortcut otherwise you have to go around to admiralty arch.” londonlover – “I had a walk past horse guards the other day and its all closed up for a beach volleyball tournament. I know it sounds daft, but they are tripping tonnes of sand into it so they can play this game. I think horse guards is where they are holding volleyball tournaments in the olympics, so it's probably a dry-run for that. Horse guards is going to be closed until the end of August until they finish this tournament. Its probably still worth a look though.

Ive seen beach volleyball on the telly a few times and there's lots of things to look at (if you know what I mean ).” Changing the Guard at Horse Guards From 1st Sept 2016 Horse Guards WestminsterChanging the Guard at Horse Guards is similar to the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, but is usually a lot less crowded. 4 O'Clock Parade, or Dismounting Ceremony From 1st Sept 2016 Horse Guards WestminsterThe Dismounting Ceremony (or 4 O'Clock Parade) is a short ceremony that takes place every day at the Horse Guards. The Major's Review, at Horse Guards 3rd June 2017 Horse Guards WestminsterTwo weeks before 'Trooping the Colour', to celebrate the Queen's birthday, they hold a rehearsal called "The Major's Review". The Colonel's Review, at Horse Guards 10th June 2017 Horse Guards WestminsterOne week before the actual 'Trooping the Colour' parade, they hold a second rehearsal called "The Colonel's Review".

to 15th Jun 2017 Horse Guards WestminsterBeating Retreat is a floodlit pageant of military music and drill on Horse Guards Parade, ending with a salute to the Queen. Trooping the Colour, at Horse Guards 17th June 2017 Horse Guards WestminsterWatch a parade of soldiers and bands marching down The Mall in 'Trooping the Colour', to celebrate the Queen's birthday. If you like Horse Guards, then you might also like… > Downing Street Number 10 Downing Street has been the traditional residence of the Prime Minister since 1731. > Parliament Square Parliament Square is in the heart of Westminster, surrounded by Big Ben, Parliament and the Abbey. > Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square has Nelson’s Column, Admiralty Arch, and the world famous National Gallery. > The Mall The Mall stretches from Trafalgar Square through Admiralty Arch, and right up to Buckingham Palace. St. James Park | London Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Share St. James's Park is a 23 hectare (58 acre) park in Westminster , central London , the oldest of the Royal Parks of London .

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. 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, Duck Island (named for the lake's collection of waterfowl), and West Island. A bridge across the lake affords a Westward 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. Edit André Mollet's design for the park in Charles II's time, before 18th and 19th century remodelling, which shaped a more natural-looking lake from the straight canal visible here, the eastern part of which was filled in to create Horse Guards Parade. In 1532, Henry VIII purchased the area of swampy marshland, often flooded by the Tyburn , from Eton College.

This land lay to the West of York Palace (afterwards renamed Whitehall), 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 the park drained and landscaped, and kept various 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 shown to the right. 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. 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) by the Royal Family. Green Park and St. James's Park c.1833 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 be rerouted to more 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. Self Guided London Walk - Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace ... London Icons Self Guided Walk Stage 1 Westminster To Horseguards Stage 2 Horseguards To Big Ben Via Buckingham Palace This walk in a very short distance covers many of London's main sights including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye to name just a few. If you just walked this without stopping you'd do it in under an hour, but as there is so much to see you probably will have done well to complete it in one day. These notes have focus on the logistics, no attempt is made to be a substitute for a good guide book on London.

Invest in a good London street map, (the London A-Z series has a great range of suitable street maps) readily available in all news stands and shops and you'll have no problem following this walk and be fully equipped to make interesting diversions and adaptations with confidence. Self Guided Shopping Walk Getting Started The walk is a circular walk, so it doesn't matter really where you start. If you want to see Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace late morning it will probably be best advised to start the loop at Westminster Abbey. We have chosen Westminster Underground Station, served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines of the London Underground. Big Ben & Houses of Parliament We start at Westminster Underground. When you come out of the main exit, perhaps London's most famous icon, Big Ben towers above you. You are standing at the western end of Westminster Bridge. Cross over the busy main road in front of you, using the official crossing or underpass. Big Ben is part of the Palace of Westminster originally started in 1020. The palace was burnt down in 1834, so the Gothic architecture you see today is comparatively recent. The palace houses both of the the UK's ruling bodies, the Houses of Parliament and the House of Lords.

When parliament is sitting after dark, a light shines from the top of Big Ben's tower. For obvious reasons, security is out in force. It is possible to arrange tours, visit debates in the chamber, even climb Big Ben's tower. However don't expect just to turn up and walk in. For UK residents going through their own MP it is much easier than for foreign visitors who can only tour during the summer opening with tickets purchased in advance. Walk along the eastern boundary of Parliament Square heading south with Westminster Palace on your left. On the green area in the centre of Parliament Square there are normally protesters of one sort or another with placards and sometimes tents. This central area is not solid earth, if a vehicle strayed onto the green there is a chance it may fall into the London Underground line below. St Margaret's Church On the outside of the south side of Parliament Square is a church, St Margarets. The famous Westminster Abbey dwarfs it behind. We visit Westminster Abbey later. Dating back to the 11th century, St Margarets is steeped in history. St Margarets acts as the local church for the House of Commons opposite. The printer, William Caxton and the explorer Walter Raleigh are buried here.

Free lunchtime concerts are held regularly during the summer. This is not a tourist attraction, but a working church in which you are welcome to worship. Sightseeing In London Shopping Walk The Jewel Tower Going south from St Margarets and immediately next door is the Jewel Tower. The Jewel Tower is a surviving part of Westminster Palace from the fire in 1834. Houses of Parliament & Big Ben The tower was built to house the King's wardrobe and jewels in 1365. Today it is run by English Heritage and is used to house the 'Parliament Past and Present' exhibition about the history of Parliament, (admission charge). Now, keep going south and you come to a long piece of grass. This is a favourite place for tv people to carry out interviews with the politicians from parliament. Dean's Yard & Westminster School At the end of the grass area there is a road turning off right, Great College Street which we take. You immediately experience a different atmosphere. On your left are residential buildings, a favourite area for politicians to have apartments. On the right are the grounds of Westminster School. At the end Of Great College Street turn right into Dean's Yard, yes members of the public are allowed in.

Dean's Yard is like a small village in the heart of London. It is a large square green surrounded by the buildings of Westminster School and Church House, the headquarters of the Church of England. Westminster School dates back to 1340 when the Pope encouraged all monasteries (Westminster Abbey) to support a school. Exit the yard at the opposite corner to your entry. Turn right and Westminster Abbey faces you. Westminster Abbey Like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey is one of the main tourist mainstays and is on many people's itinerary on their first visit. Westminster Abbey The building you see now was erected by Edward the Confessor in 1065, when he set his throne in the neighbouring Westminster Palace. Westminster Abbey has become the setting for coronations, burials, funerals and marriages. Westminster Abbey is England's main religious building. Many kings and famous people are buried here. We have a dedicated page for Westminster Abbey . On leaving Westminster Abbey, head west towards Victoria. On the other side of the road is a huge modern conference centre, Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, set back from the road. Cross over to the side of the road of the conference centre. Turn right at the next road, Storeys Gate.

Facing you when you turn is Central Hall. Central Hall played host to the first assembly of the United Nations in 1946. Continue northwards the length of Storeys Gate. At the northern end of Storeys Gate at a T junction with Great George Street. Turn left, then immediately right into Horse Guards Road. Keep on the right hand side of the road, St James's Park on the other side we will visit later. Cabinet War Rooms After just 100m you will come to the Cabinet War Rooms on your right. This is where in the 2nd World War Churchill directed the war from deep underground. This museum (admission charge) shows you the facility much as it was, with map room, cabinet room where government sat and Churchill's own private quarters. By the Cabinet War Rooms are steps up to King Charles Street. You are now surrounded by imposing government buildings on either side, all along to the end of the street. On your right is the Treasury, on your left the Foreign Office. Cenotaph Turn left at the end of King Charles Street, you are now in Whitehall. Immediately on your right in the centre of the road is the Cenotaph, pictured right.

Built in 1920, the monument is the centre of the nation on Remembrance Sunday, the nearest Sunday to 11th November. Royalty, politicians and war veterans meet and the monarch lies a wreath in memory of war dead. If you are in the UK around this time you will see many people wearing red poppy's and volunteers selling them, proceeds go to the welfare of ex-military. There are similar memorials all over the country. Downing Street Next turning on your left is Downing Street. You've seen the Houses of Parliament and the home of government agencies all around you, this is where the Prime Minister lives and works at number 10, with his chancellor responsible for finance next door in number 11. Until 1989, you could walk right up to the front doors of number 10. Because of security there are now big black iron gates barring public entrance to Downing Street. Horseguards Past more government buildings including the Cabinet Office and next on your left is Horseguards. There will be invariably a crowd around the entrance, where two costumed soldiers on horseback offer a premier picture opportunity, (see right).

Horseguards Built on land where jousting had taken place, this imposing guard house was built between 1750 and 1758. Only members of the royal family are allowed to ride through the arch. Changing of the guard is held here at 11:00 (10:00, Sundays). Many people find this location much more satisfying than the more famous Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Here crowds are much, much smaller and you are much closer and get uninterrupted close up pictures. Banqueting House On the other side of the road (Whitehall) at the junction with Horseguards Avenue is the Banqueting House, the only surviving building of Whitehall Palace. Whitehall Palace was England's main medieval palace in Tudor and Stuart times. it once contained over 2000 rooms. The palace was destroyed by fire in 1698, except for the Banqueting House. The Banqueting House is famous as the location of Charles I execution, every year on the anniversary a wreath is put outside. You can visit this sumptuous building for which there is an admission charge.

On the other (northern side) of the junction with Horseguards Avenue is the Old War Office, home to the Intelligence and Defence agencies. Underneath the building is a military command centre where Royalty and government would retire to in a Doomsday scenario. Margaret Thatcher directed the Falklands War from here. Link To Stage 2 Horseguards To Big Ben Via Buckingham Palace Original London Tour Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses For the vast majority of visitors to London, the way you get about town on a day to day basis is by the London Underground, perhaps supplemented by the occasional red London bus using an Oyster or Travelcard . But, especially for the first time visitor to London, the popular hop on, hop off sightseeing buses are a great orientation to the city of London getting you up to speed on the layout and spotting new places of interest you were not aware off. You will have invested a lot of time and money in getting to London so you will want to use your time as efficiently as possible. The hop on, hop off sightseeing buses are perhaps unrivalled in their ability to give you a speedy informed orientation to the layout of London.

They also help you identify new locations that appeal to you, perhaps pointed out by the on-board guide and also give the once over those attractions you had always planned on visiting. These buses offer comprehensive coverage covering nearly all the main sights in London. The popularity of the buses means there is one along every few minutes and you get a grandstand view perched up on the top deck of the bus. In addition to the bus tour a river cruise and some free walking tours are all part of the deal. Key Points of Original London Tour - Tickets valid for 24 hours - Three major bus tour routes supplemented by feeder services - FREE Walking Tours!

(Three of them) - FREE Thames River Cruise - Hop-on and hop-off service with stops at all the attractions - English live guides + Audio guides (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German, Japanese & Kids' Channel.) Copyright © 2002-2017 Victorian London - Entertainment and Recreation - Parks, Commons and Heaths - St James's Park Victorian London - Entertainment and Recreation - Parks, Commons and Heaths - St James's Park In the forenoon it is interesting to observe the trains of children led by charming maidens of rigid deportment to the banks of the ornamental waters of St. James's Park. The lovely charges are left there to feed the downy swans, whilst their blooming conductors indulge in simpering conversations with downy "noblemen in disguise" who have been metamorphosed into very seedy apparel and magnificent tips. Upon the chairs intended for sitting on you can recline for the small charge of one penny; but if you want to rest your legs, it is twopence; if your arms also, three-pence. In short, the price is a penny for chairing each member. Punch, Jan.-Jun. 1842 St.

James's Park was, in the reign of Henry VIII, little better than a morass; but that prince, on his building St. James's Palace, inclosed it, and laid it out in walks. It was afterwards much enlarged and improved by order of Charles II., under the direction of Le Notre, who planted it with rows of lime trees, laid out the Mall, which is half a mile long, and formed a canal in the centre of 2800 feet in length, and 100 feet in width. The rebuilding of Buckingham Palace in 1828 led to an entire remodelling of St. James's Park, when the interior, which previously presented the appearance of a common field, was converted into a beautiful pleasure ground, formed into walks interspersed with shrubberies tastefully disposed; the long straight canal was at the same time transformed into a sheet of ornamental water, with the addition of an island at its western, and a peninsula at its eastern extremity, both crowned with plantations.

On the northern side a vast alteration took place upon the demolition of Carlton House and its appurtenances, and the formation on its site of the stately terraces and enclosures that, under the name of Carl ton Gardens, now exhibits one of the finest features of the metropolis. Upon the south side, the Bird Cage Walk, hitherto reserved exclusively for royalty, was converted into a road, rendered a thoroughfare for carriages at all hours during the sitting of Parliament; and in addition the Wellington Barracks and a chapel for the military have since been erected. On the extensive plot of ground between the east end of the enclosure and the Horse Guards the foot-guards parade daily in the summer season between ten and eleven o'clock; and a full band of music renders this an attractive spectacle. Here are two large pieces of ordnance which were thus placed at different periods of the late war, in commemoration of the splendid victories gained by the British soldiers in different parts of the world. One is a Turkish cannon of great length, brought from Alexandria in Egypt, and having on it various impressions emblematical of that country: the carriage which is of English construction, is ornamented by appropriate devices.

The other is an immense mortar, which was employed by Marshal Soult at the siege of Cadiz, and left behind on the retreat of the French army after the battle at Salamanca: it was cast at Seville; and the Spanish Regency presented it to the Prince Regent, with a request that it might be placed in one of the royal parks. Mogg's New Picture of London and Visitor's Guide to it Sights, 1844 JAMES (ST.) PARK. A part of eighty-seven acres (shaped not unlike a boy's kite), originally appertaining to the Palace of St. James's ... A temporary Bridge surmounted by a Chinese Pagoda, erected across the Canal for a display of fireworks on the occasion of the arrival of the allied sovereigns in 1814, was taken down in 1825. Observe.- Fronting the Horse Guards, the mortar cast at Seville, by order of Napoleon, employed by Soult at Cadiz, and left behind in the retreat of the French army after the battle of Salamanca. It was presented to the Prince Regent by the Spanish government.

I have been informed by an officer of the Royal Engineers (often fired upon by this very mortar) that the heaviest shell it carried weighed about 108lbs. and that its extreme range was 6200 yards. The same officer added, that he had seen a shell from this piece of ordnance range into Cadiz, when the whole of that splendid square, the Plaza de San Antonio, was crowded with the rank and fashion of the place, and fall most accurately in the centre of the square without injuring a single individual. The ducks in the Park belong to the Ornithological Society. In January 1846, the collection contained upwards of three hundred birds, including twenty-one species and fifty-one distinct varieties. The Park was lighted with gas in 1822; and the Wellington Barracks in the Birdcage-walk erected in 1834. Peter Cunningham, Hand-Book of London, 1850 The windows of almost all the club-houses in Pall Mall have the most charming views on St. James's Park. It is the smallest of all the parks; but it is a perfect jewel amidst the splendid buildings which surround it on all sides.

On its glassy lake fine shrubs, and beeches, and ash-trees on the banks throw their trembling shadows; tame water-fowl of every description swim on it or waddle on the green sward near, and eat the crumbs which the children have brought for them. The paths are skirted with flower-beds, with luxurious grass-plots behind them; and on sunny days these grass-plots are crowded with - happy children, who prefer this park to all others, for the water-birds are such grateful guests, and look so amiable and stupid, and are so fond of biscuits, and never bite any one. And the sheep, too, are altogether different from all other sheep in the world; they are so tame and fat, and never think of running away when a good child pats their backs, and gives them some bread to eat. And there are green boats, and for one penny they take you over to the other side; and the water, too, is green, much greener than the boat; and there is no danger of horses and carriages, and children may run and jump about without let or hindrance, and - there are such numbers of children too.

in short, there is no saying how much pleasure the London children take in St. James's Park. On the Continent, too, there are parks; they are larger, and are taken more care off, and by far more ornamental than the London parks. But all strangers who come to London must find that their imperial and royal palace gardens at home, with all their waterworks, and Chinese pagodas, Greek temples, and - artificial romanticisms, do not make anything like that cheerful, - refreshing, tranquillising, and yet exciting impression which the parks of England produce. It is certainly not the climate which works this miracle, nor is it a peculiarity of the soil, for fine meadow-land there is in plenty on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube. The English alone know how to handle Nature, so that it remains nature; they alone can here and there take off a tree, and in another place add some shrubs, without, therefore, forcing vegetation into the narrow sphere of arbitrary and artificial laws.

Our great gardens at home want wide open grassplots; where such are, the shrubs and plantations encroach upon them; none are allowed to leave the paths and walk over the grass, and the public are confined to, and crowded on, the sand-covered paths, whence they may look at the clumps of trees, and the narrow empty clearances between them. On such spots in England you find the most splendid cattle; children are playing there, and men and women come and go, giving life, movement, and colouring to the landscape; and, since parks are but imitations of nature, life, movement, and colour are absolutely necessary to them. This life on the green sward in the very heart of the metropolis gives the parks a rural and idyllic aspect; while, on the other hand, it suggested the saying, that all England gives one the idea of a large park. Max Schlesinger, Saunterings in and about London, 1853 ST. JAMES'S PARK. St. James's Park (ninety-one acres) lies between Parliament Street and Buckingham Palace. It anciently belonged to St.

James's Palace; was first enclosed by Henry VIII.; much improved by Charles II., who daily resorted to it; and finally reduced into its present form by George IV. The north side is called the Mall from a game once popular, and the south side, Birdcage Walk. "Milton lived in a house in Petty France, with a garden reaching into the Birdcage Walk; Nell Gwynne, in Pall Mall; and Lord Chancellor Jefferies, in the large brick house north of Storey's Gate. St. James's Park was, till the time of Charles II, little more than a grass park; he threw the several ponds (Rosamond's pond excepted) into one artificial canal, built a decoy for ducks, a small ring-fence for deer, planted trees in even ranks, and introduced broad - gravel-walks in place of narrow and winding footpaths. Charles I., attended by Bishop Juxon and a regiment of foot, walked, Jan. 30th, 1649, through this Park from St. James's Palace to the scaffold at Whitehall. He is said on his way to have pointed out a tree near Spring Gardens as planted by his brother, Prince Henry.

Here Cromwell took Whitelocke aside, and sounded the Memorialist on the subject of a King Oliver. Some of the trees in this Park, planted and watered by King Charles II himself, were acorns from the royal oak at Boscobel; none, however, are now to be seen. St. Evremont, a French epicurean wit, was keeper of the ducks in St. James's Park in the reign of Charles II." -Cunningham. The rare aquatic birds which disport themselves in the "Ornamental Water," and incubate in its pleasant wooded islets, are the property of the Ornithological Society. To nursemaids and their youthful charges they are as great an attraction as their predecessors were to the "merry monarch." The long line of lofty houses which fences - in the Pall Mall side of the Park is called Carlton House Terrace, and occupies the site of the ill-famed palace of George IV., the Carlton House of the gamblers, beaux, wits, demireps, and courtiers of the Regency. Marlborough House (see p. 53) is the intended residence of the Prince of Wales; St.

James's Palace, the scene of the royal Levees and Drawing. Rooms. The Gardens (open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in summer, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter), one of the pleasantest Arcadys in the Metropolis, were laid out by Regent Street Nash, in the reign of George IV. In 1857, a suspension bridge for foot-passengers was thrown across the lake, to the infinite comfort and delectation of the frequenters of the Park, who had been previously compelled to effect a wearisome circumambulation. The lake, at the same time, was cleared out, and the depth of water reduced to 4 feet. The Horse Guards Parade, where the Guards are "trooped" every morning, is ornamented with a large mortar, taken at the siege of Cadiz, and presented to the king of England by the Spanish Government; and a Turkish cannon, brought from Alexandria by the English, and mounted on a carriage of English manufacture. Constitution Hill skirts the western side of the Green Park, and connects St. James's with Hyde Park.

Here Sir Robert Peel was fatally injured by a fall from his horse, 1860; and here, on three occasions, the Queen has been molested by the ill-directed pistols of silly wretches, whose wild passion for a wicked notoriety had degraded them into imbecility. Cruchley's London in 1865 : A Handbook for Strangers, 1865 As we take our lounge in the afternoon it is necessary to put on quite a different mental mood as we pass from one Park to another. We pass at once from turmoil into comparative repose as we enter the guarded enclosure encircled on all sides by a wilderness of brick and mortar. You feel quite at ease in that vast palatial garden of St. James. Your office coat may serve in St. James's, but your adorn yourself with all adornments for Hyde Park. You go leisurely along, having adjusted your watch by the Horse Guards, looking at the soldiers, and the nurses, and the children, glancing at the island, and looking at the ducks---the dainty, overfed ducks---suggesting all sorts of ornithological lore, not to mention low materialistic associations of green peas or sage and onions.

Those dissipated London ducks lay their heads under their wings and go to roost at quite fashionable hours, that would astonish their primitive country brethren. I hope you like to feed ducks, my friends. All great, good-natured people have a "sneaking kindness" for feeding ducks. There is a most learned and sagacious bishop who won't often show himself to human bipeds, but he may be observed by them in his grounds feeding ducks while philosophising on things in general, and the University Tests in particular. Then what crowded reminiscences we might have of St. James's Park and of the Mall---of sovereigns and ministers, couriers and fops, lords and ladies, philosophers and thinkers! By this sheet of water, or rather by the pond that then was a favorite resort for intending suicides, Charles II would play with his dogs or dawdle with his mistresses; feeding the ducks here one memorable morning when the stupendous revelation of a Popish plot was made to his incredulous ears; or looking grimly towards the Banqueting Hall where his father perished, when the debate on the Exclusion Bill was running fiercely high. But the reminiscences are endless which belong to St. James's Park.

Only a few years ago there was the private entrance which Judge Jeffreys used to have by special licence into the Park, but now it has been done away. There were all kinds of superstitions floating about in the uninformed Westminster mind about Judge Jeffreys. What Sydney Smith said in joke to the poaching lad, "that he had a private gallows," was believed by the Westmonasterians to be real earnest about Jeffreys---that he used after dinner to seize hold of any individual to whom he might take a fancy and hang him up in front of his house for his own personal delectation. I am now reconciled to the bridge that is thrown midway across, although it certainly limits the expanse of the ornamental water. But standing on the ornamental bridge, and looking both westward and eastward, I know of hardly anything comparable to that view.

That green neat lawn and noble timber, and beyond the dense foliage the grey towers of the Abbey, and the gold of those Houses of Parliament, which, despite captious criticism, will always be regarded as the most splendid examples of the architecture of the great Victorian era, and close at hand the paths and the parterres, cause the majesty and greatness of England to blend with this beautiful oasis islanded between the deserts of Westminster and Pimlico. Looking westward, too, towards Buckingham Palace---the palace, despite exaggerated hostile criticism, is at least exquisitely proportioned; but then one is sorry to hear about the Palace that the soldiers are so ill stowed away there; and the Queen does not like it; and the Hanoverian animal pecularly abounds. We recollect that once when her Majesty was ill, a servant ran out of the palace to charter a cab and go for the doctor, because those responsible for the household had not made better arrangements. In enumerating the Parks of London, we ought not to forget the Queen's private garden of Buckingham Palace, hardly less than the Green Park in extent, and so belonging to the system of the lungs of London.

for the rest of this book, click here W.S.Gilbert, London Characters and the Humorous Side of London Life, 1870? ENGLISH PARK SCENERY.ï¿½The things which please me most are the trees. Every day, after leaving the Athenaeum, I go and sit for an hour in St. Jamesï¿½s Park; the lake shines softly beneath its misty covering, while the dense foliage bends over the still waters. The rounded trees, the great green domes, make a kind of architecture far more delicate than the other. The eye reposes itself upon these softened forms, upon these subdued tones. These are beauties, but tender and touching, those of foggy countries, of Holland. Yesterday, at eight oï¿½clock in the evening, although the weather was fine, everything seen from the suspension-bridge appeared vapoury; the last rays disappeared in whitish smoke ; on the right, the remains of redness ; over the Thames, and in the rest of sky, a pale slate tint.

There are tones like these in the landï¿½scapes of Rembrandt, in the twilights of Van der Neer the subdued light, the air charged with vapour, the insensible and continuous changes of the vast exhalation which softens, imparts a bluish tint to, and dims the contours, the whole producing the impression of a great life, vague, diffused, and melancholyï¿½the life of a humid country. The Leisure Hour, 29th June 1872 quoting the 'M.Taine's Notes on England' St. Jamesï¿½s Park joins the southeast corner of the Green-park, and is little more than an enclosed garden, nearly half of which is occupied by a shallow piece of ornamental water, proably the safest for skating in London. The Mall, a broad walk planted with elms, limes, and planes, runs along the north side, and gets its name from the game formerly played there. On the east side is the parade-ground of the Horse Guards, where the guard is trooped daily at 11 a.m.

One of the oddest sights in London is afforded by the colony of gingerbread and sweetstuff stalls in the north-east corner of the park, at the back of Carlton House-terrace. There is a large consumption of curds and whey, and of milk fresh from the cow, at these primitive restaurants, and the cows which are tethered to the stalls give an air of reality to the promises of their proprietors. NEAREST Railway Station, St. Jamesï¿½s-pk; Omnibus Route Regent-street, Parliament-street, and Victoria-street. Charles Dickens (Jr.), Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879 fresh milk on sale, from Old and New London, c.1880

Question: Which London park lies between Horse Guards Parade and Buckingham Palace?
Answer: ST JAMES`S Park