St James’s Park is one of the oldest of the 8 Royal Parks in
London with millions of visitors each year. The park is open every day between
the hours of 05:00 to 00:00.
The park has three surrounding palaces all being the
Buckingham Palace, Westminster (known now as the Houses of Parliament) and St
James’s Palace. In the 13th Century, a leper hospital was founded to which is
where the park’s name had come from. In 1532, Henry VIII had acquired the park
to change it into a deer park near St James’s Palace for hunting.
The next monarch to take over was Elizabeth I who held many
forms of artistry that was to her like such as pageantry and fetes. A road was
constructed in front of St James’s Palace, which is now known to be called as
the Mall.
King James became king in 1603 and he begun to make changes
from the deer park. He improved the drainage and control of water supply. He
held a collection of animals which included camels and crocodiles. On Birdcage
Walk, James I had all sorts of exotic birds in this area.
Charles II redesigned and changed the layout of the park
with lines of trees being planted and lawns laid down, having been exiled from
and France and returned after the English Civil War. During the Hanoverian
period in the 18th century, a canal was filled in to create the ground for
Horse Guards Parade.
John Nash took over and completed his plans for the park in
1827 and coming into fruition a year later when the park was transformed from
his designs. Nash gave the park a Romantic style with naturalness coming more
into play. The canal became a natural-looking lake and shrubs replaced most of
the flowers.
The pelicans have become a permanent fixture of a bird
(asides from - ahem - pigeons) to the park since 1664, when a Russian
ambassador gave a pair of pelicans to Charles II. You’ll also find online
videos of pelicans munching down on - ahem - pigeons. To this day, pelicans are
still offered by foreign ambassadors. There are over 16 species of birds and plants which include the Reedbed.
In 1837, the Ornithological Society of London set up a
cottage for the birdkeeper, which is now still there now near Duck Island. They
also had a club room for the society who helped look after the ducks and geese.
Another landmark nearby is the Tiffany Fountain which you can catch it spurting
up to 20 feet of water. The other fountain is called the Swire Fountain which
pumps up water of 4.5 metres and supports the lake by cleaning the water.
The Blue Bridge, originally designed by John Nash, resides
almost centrally in the Park, offering views of the London Eye and Horse Guards
Parade.
There are two memorials in the park: Guard’s Memorial and South African
Royal Artillery Memorial. The Guard’s Memorial, designed by H. Charlton,
features 5 bronze figures of the Foot Guards Regiments: Grenadiers,
Coldstreams, Scots, Welsh and Irish. It was to commerate the Guardsmen who died
in World War I. The South African Royal Artillery Memorial, designed by Sir
Aston Webb, was built in memory of people killed in the Boer War (1899 - 1902) in
South Africa. The memorial had a winged figure representing Peace riding atop a
horse stood on a pedestal of Portland stone. The names of the dead are
inscribed on the bronze plate. The inscription of the memorial reads:
"Erected by
the officers and men of the Royal Artillery in memory of their honoured dead.
South Africa. 1899-1902."
The Boy Statue, designed by Charles Henry Mabey, is a Grade
II sculpture featuring a marble figure of a boy sitting on a plinth. It seemed
to be in working order as water was coming out of the fishes around him and
drained away into the seashell-shaped basins.
Walking around the park, you’ll see plaques on the ground
for the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, which follows a 9 mile trail
around the Royal parks, seeing sites associated with the Princess.
#StJames’sPark
