St. James's Park
Nash, John
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Date
1532-1924Description
The wooded area south of the St. James's Park Lake, looking east; St James's Park is the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. It is situated in the City of Westminster, London, just east of Buckingham Palace and west of Whitehall and Downing Street. The St James's area, including St. James's Palace, is just to the north. The park is 23 hectares (58 acres) in size. St James's Park is bounded by The Mall 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. The history as a royal park dates to Henry VIII. Remodelling in 1826-1827, 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, 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. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 1/26/2008)
Type of Work
park (recreation area); gardenSubject
animals, recreation and games, festivals, Gardens, Nineteenth century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only