Green Park

Last updated

Green Park
Green Park, London - April 2007.jpg
Greater London UK location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Green Park
TypePublic park
Location London, SW1
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′15″N0°08′37″W / 51.50417°N 0.14361°W / 51.50417; -0.14361
Area19 hectares (47 acres)
Operated by The Royal Parks
Public transit access Underground no-text.svg Green Park
Website www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green-park

The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the middle of a near-continuous chain of green spaces in Westminster that includes St James's Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. To the northwest of Green Park is the district of St James's including, Lancaster House, Clarence House, and St James's Palace.

Contents

First enclosed in the 17th century by King Charles II, it was landscaped in 1820 and is notable among central London parks for having no lakes or buildings, and only minimal flower planting in the form of naturalised narcissus.

Description and surroundings

Green Park covers just over 40 acres (16 ha) [1] between Hyde Park and St. James's Park. Together with Kensington Gardens and the gardens of Buckingham Palace, these parks form an almost unbroken stretch of tended green land. This combined parkland is mostly bounded on the four cardinal compass points by Horse Guards Parade or adjoining Downing Street (east); the Victoria/Belgravia district (south); Kensington and Notting Hill (west) and St James's, Mayfair and Bayswater (north).

In contrast with its neighbouring parks, Green Park has no lakes, no buildings, no playgrounds and three, early yet distinctive post-war-era public monuments:

The park consists almost entirely of mature trees rising out of turf; the only flowers are naturalised narcissus.

The park is bounded on the south by Constitution Hill, on the east by the pedestrian Queen's Walk, and on the north by Piccadilly. It meets St. James's Park at Queen's Gardens with the Victoria Memorial at its centre, opposite the entrance to Buckingham Palace. To the south is the ceremonial avenue of the Mall, and the buildings of St James's Palace and Clarence House overlook the park to the east. Green Park Underground station has platforms of the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines. It is by the north end of Queen's Walk. Tyburn stream runs beneath Green Park. [3]

In 2016 one acre of the park near the Bomber Command Memorial was designated as the 90th Coronation Meadow, named The Queen's Meadow, and established as a wildflower meadow using seed taken from ancient meadows at Horsenden Meadow in Ealing, and Valebridge Common in West Sussex. [4] [5] In 2017 a wide range of flowers were reported such as yellow rattle and common poppy. [6]

History

The park is said to have in been for many medieval years a swampy burial ground for lepers from the hospital at St James's on its north side. It was first enclosed in the 16th century to be part of the estate of Poulteney family. It was then, as probably earlier too, partly excavated for the sand for the mortar for brickwork and stone building elements. In 1668, this part of "the Poulteney estate", the "Sandpit Field", was surrendered to Charles II, who made the bulk of the land into a Royal Park as "Upper St James's Park" and enclosed it with a brick wall. [7] He laid out its main walks and built an icehouse to supply the household with ice for cooling drinks in summer.

In 1746, Upper St. James's Park was officially renamed The Green Park. The park was an open meadow with few flowers at the time but this state may arise from a feud between Charles II of England and his Queen Consort, Catherine of Braganza. The oral history says the Queen discovered Charles had picked flowers in the park for another woman. In revenge, the Queen ordered that every single flower in the park should be pulled up and no more planted. [8]

The Queen's Walk was laid out for George II's queen Caroline; it led to the reservoir that held drinking water for St James's Palace, called the Queen's Basin. [9]

Until a few decades later the park was on the outskirts of London; it was dark and somewhat semi-rural. It was known as a haunt of highwaymen and thieves. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a popular place for ballooning attempts and public firework displays; Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks was composed specifically for a fireworks celebration held in The Green Park in 1749. [10] The park was also known as a duelling ground; one particularly notorious one being in 1730 between William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath and John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol. [11]

In 1820, John Nash landscaped the park, as an adjunct to St James's Park. [12] On 10 June 1840, it was the scene of Edward Oxford's assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, on Constitution Hill.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckingham Palace</span> Official London residence of the British monarch

Buckingham Palace is a royal residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster</span> City in Central London, England

Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and much of the West End cultural centre including the entertainment precinct of West End Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mall, London</span> Road in London, England

The Mall is a ceremonial route and roadway in the City of Westminster, central London, that travels 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) between Buckingham Palace at its western end and Trafalgar Square via Admiralty Arch to the east. Along the north side of The Mall is green space and St. James's Palace with other official buildings, and to the south is St James's Park. Near the east end at Trafalgar Square and Whitehall it is met by Horse Guards Road and Spring Gardens, near the west end at the Victoria Memorial it is met by the Constitution Hill roadway and the Spur Road to the street of Buckingham Gate. It is closed to traffic on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and on ceremonial occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Park, London</span> Royal Park in London, United Kingdom

Hyde Park is a 350 acres (140 ha), historic Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, past Buckingham Palace to St James's Park. Hyde Park is divided by the Serpentine and the Long Water lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington Gardens</span> Park in London, England

Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Park, in western central London known as the West End. The gardens cover an area of 107 hectares. The open spaces of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, and St. James's Park together form an almost continuous "green lung" in the heart of London. Kensington Gardens are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St James's Palace</span> Royal palace in London, England

St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Although no longer the principal residence of the monarch, it is the ceremonial meeting place of the Accession Council, the office of the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, and the London residence of several members of the royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marble Arch</span> Monument in London, England

The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well-known balcony. In 1851, on the initiative of architect and urban planner Decimus Burton, a one-time pupil of John Nash, the arch was relocated to its current site, near the northeast corner of Hyde Park, so that expansion of Buckingham Palace could proceed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Park Corner</span> Road junction in London, England

Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The junction includes a broad green-space roundabout in its centre, which is now the setting for Burton's triumphal Wellington Arch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Hill, London</span> Historic road in the City of Westminster, London

Constitution Hill is a road in the City of Westminster in London. It connects the western end of The Mall with Hyde Park Corner, and is bordered by Buckingham Palace Gardens to the south, and Green Park to the north. At the top of the rise in the roadway at the Corner is the Wellington Arch, near where the road is flanked by the Memorial Gates war memorial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St James's Park</span> Royal Park in the City of Westminster, central London

St James's Park is a 23-hectare (57-acre) urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the site of St James's Palace. The area was initially enclosed for a deer park near the Palace of Whitehall for King Henry VIII in the 1530's. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of public parks that includes Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckingham Palace Garden</span> Garden in London

Buckingham Palace Garden is a large private park attached to the London residence of the British monarch. It is situated to the rear (west) of Buckingham Palace, occupying a 17-hectare (42-acre) site in the City of Westminster and forms the largest private garden in London. It is bounded by Constitution Hill to the north, Hyde Park Corner to the west, Grosvenor Place to the south-west, and the Royal Mews, Queen's Gallery, and Buckingham Palace itself to the south and east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decimus Burton</span> British architect (1800–1881)

Decimus Burton was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Regency styles. He was a founding fellow and vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and from 1840 architect to the Royal Botanic Society, and an early member of the Athenaeum Club, London, whose clubhouse he designed and which the company of his father, James Burton, the pre-eminent Georgian London property developer, built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Memorial, London</span> Public memorial by Thomas Brock

The Victoria Memorial is a monument to Queen Victoria, located at the end of The Mall in London by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock. Designed in 1901, it was unveiled on 16 May 1911, though it was not completed until 1924. It was the centrepiece of an ambitious urban planning scheme, which included the creation of the Queen’s Gardens to a design by Sir Aston Webb, and the refacing of Buckingham Palace by the same architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walking in London</span>

Walking is a popular recreational activity in London, despite traffic congestion. There are many streets that provide interesting walks, especially within historic central London, In addition there are attractive commons, parks, canals, and disused railway tracks that provide space for walks. This includes Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, and the eight Royal Parks: Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Richmond Park, etc. In recent years access to canals and rivers, including the Regent's Canal, and the River Thames has been greatly improved, and as well a number of long-distance walking routes have been created that link green spaces.

Westminster St George's, originally named St George's, Hanover Square, was a parliamentary constituency in Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk</span>

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk is a 7-mile (11 km) long circular walking trail in central London, England, dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada Memorial</span> War memorial in Green Park, London

The Canada Memorial in Green Park, London, United Kingdom, commemorates members of the Canadian Forces killed during the First and Second World Wars. It was designed by the Canadian sculptor Pierre Granche, erected in 1992 and unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. The memorial was the result of lobbying and fund raising, much of it in Canada, by the former Canadian media tycoon Conrad Black.

References

  1. ↑ "The Green Park". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "E J Clack to Move Centre Stage at Green Park Station". www.peterberthoud.co.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Royal Parks website: The Green Park
  4. ↑ "Prince Charles visits The Green Park to help create the 90th new Coronation Meadow". The Royal Parks. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Green Park, London". Britain Express. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Queen's Meadow in bloom". Coronation Meadows. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. ↑ 'The Bailiwick of St. James', Survey of London: volumes 29 and 30: St James Westminster, Part 1 (1960), pp. 21–28. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40542. Date accessed: 29 January 2008.
  8. ↑ Paul Rabbitts (15 June 2017). London's Royal Parks The Postcard Collection. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4456-7315-8.
  9. ↑ "Landscape History – Green Park – The Royal favourite". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Fireworks Music" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Michael Kennedy. Oxford University Press, 2007.
  11. ↑ London: what to see, and how to see it, p. 61. H.G. Clarke, 1862.
  12. ↑ "Landscape History". The Royal Parks. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.