ST. JAMES’S PARK

Description

Essentials about St. James’s Park in brief

St. James’s Park is the most centrally located of the eight royal parks in London. The 23-acre park connects the government district of Whitehall to the east with Buckingham Palace to the west. Because of its central location with many landmarks in sight, St. James’s Park is a popular location for photographers.

The location of St. James’s Park

St. James’s Park forms the eastern end of a green strip in central London, over four kilometers long and interrupted only by a few streets, which continues westward across Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The park contains the elongated St. James’s Park Lake with its two islands, Duck Island and West Island.

The history of St. James’s Park

The area of today’s park was once a marshy meadow. In 1532, King Henry VIII acquired the site, had it converted into a hunting ground and built St. James’s Palace on the northern edge. Under King Charles II, the park was opened to the public in the 17th century, and in the mid-19th century it underwent another major transformation to its present appearance. The most famous inhabitants of St. James’s Park are a colony of pelicans, which have been at home in the park since 1664 when the Russian ambassador made them a gift to King Charles II.