On 27/7/04 15:28, in article ,
"John Edgar" wrote:

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 01:12:14 +0100, "Toby"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:
What is astonishing is how large they are, slap in the middle of
London.

Of course when Buckingham House was built it was a rural area, every body
else moved there in an attempt to ingratiate themselves with the court. It
also probably helps to have The Grosvenor Estate as a neighbour.

I assume that St. James Park was once the garden for St. James Palace?


Maybe. But if you look at the map, Buckingham P stands right in the
middle of, and is surrounded by Hyde Park, The Green Park, St. James'
Park, and its own gardens. It looks as if all of said parks were BP's
gardens before they were handed over to the people (sort of).
John
In limine sapientiae

I did a bit of Googling:

St James's Park: The Park was once a marshy watermeadow. In the thirteenth
century a leper hospital was founded, and it is from this hospital that the
Park took its name. In 1532 Henry VIII acquired the site as yet another deer
park and built the Palace of St James's. When Elizabeth I came to the throne
she indulged her love of pageantry and pomp, and fetes of all kinds were
held in the park. Her successor, James I, improved the drainage and
controlled the water supply. A road was created in front of St James's
Palace, approximately where the Mall is today, but it was Charles II who
made dramatic changes. The Park was redesigned, with avenues of trees
planted and lawns laid. The King opened the park to the public and was a
frequent visitor, feeding the ducks and mingling with his subjects.

Green Park: The Park was first recorded in 1554 when Sir Thomas Wyatt led a
rebellion in protest against the marriage of Mary I to Philip II of Spain.
The area was meadowland used for hunting and the occasional duel.
The Green Park is now devoid of buildings and has virtually no artefacts,
but it was not always so. The Park once contained lodges, a library, an ice
house and two vast 'temples' called the Temple of Peace and the Temple of
Concord. During festivities in the Park the two temples were destroyed. In
1749 the Hugh Temple of Peace, erected to mark the end of the War of
Austrian Succession, exploded during a firework display and in 1814 the
Temple of Concord, erected to mark 100 years of the Hanoverian Dynasty, was
also destroyed in a similar way during the Prince Regent's gala.
The Park was enclosed by Charles II in 1668, stocked with deer and provided
with a ranger's house. It was known as Upper St James's Park but by 1746 it
was called The Green Park.

Hyde Park: Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey
in 1536; he and his court were often to be seen on thundering steeds in the
hunt for deer. It remained a private hunting ground until James I came to
the throne and permitted limited access. The King appointed a ranger, or
keeper, to take charge of the park. It was Charles I who changed the nature
of the park completely. He had the Ring (north of the present Serpentine
boathouses) created and in 1637 opened the park to the general public.
In 1665, the year of the Great Plague, many citizens of London fled the City
to camp on Hyde Park, in the hope of escaping the disease.
Towards the end of the 17th century William III moved his court to
Kensington Palace. He found that his walk to St James's was very dangerous,
so he had 300 oil lamps installed, creating the first artificially lit
highway in the country. This route later became known as Rotten Row, which
is a corruption of the French 'Route de Roi' or King's Road.
Queen Caroline, wife of George II, had extensive renovations carried out and
in the 1730s had The Serpentine, a lake of some 11.34 hectares, created.