St James's Park

A Royal Park and one of the most romantic  urban landscapes in Europe. The area was originally a swamp, subject to flooding from the Tyburn stream which still flows through the lake. Its 23 hectares were first made into a park with a rigidly formal design in 1660. Charles II had a long canal excavated from the watery land and introduced the geese, pelicans and waterfowl which are still there today. The park was completely re-designed by John Nash (1828) in the English landscape style (see note on Serpentine Style) which he may have learned through his association with the Humphry and John Repton. The subtlety of the contouring is notable and the view from the new bridge (1956) across the lake to the Horse Guards and Whitehall is justly famous. An iron suspension bridge was designed by James Meadows Rendell and built in 1857 and replaced, in 1957, by the present Blue Bridge, designed by Eric Bedford of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. St James's Park is the editor's choice as the most beautiful and interesting park in London.

St James's Parkis on the London Gardens Walk and included in the eBook guide to the London Gardens Walk

See also: St James's Park in 1927