A Rich History
A little over 400 years ago, the area around St James’s Park was primarily known for its woodland, watermeadowns and farms. It was in 1536, when the royal court was based at the Palace of Westminster (known today as the Houses of Parliament), that King Henry VIII converted a section of the land into a deer park. It was here that he built a grand hunting lodge that later became St James’s Palace.
In the early 18th century, the east section of the park was completely transformed to create Horseguards Parade ground.
It was in the late 1820s that the park ultimately changed forever when architect and landscape designer John Nash completely remodelled it into the more romantic and naturalistic style that is still evident today.
Location
Changes over later years include the marble arch outside Buckingham Palace being moved to the junction of Oxford Street and Park Lane in 1851, vehicles being permitted to use The Mall in 1887, and the area outside Buckingham Palace being remodelled between 1906 and1924 to allow for the Victoria Memorial statue