Weekend plans: 5 historical parks to discover in London
Credit: @rowan.r via Instagram and London Collage
With temperatures rising and the days getting longer, Londoners are beginning to dust off their lighter clothes and increase the amount of hours in the gym in order to get ready for the summer. Spring is just around the corner and Londoners know it. For that reason, they have also started visiting the city’s many rooftop gardens and parks.
Well known by tourists and locals alike as the place to get away from the city's pollution, skyscrapers and crowds, the city’s parks also have a past. Take a walk through London’s most iconic park’s history with us:
1. Hyde Park
The Serpentine Lake at Hyde Park. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
It is probably the most famous park in the British capital. Hyde Park is a snapshot of everything one can find in London: It offers a bit of politics, with the Speaker’s Corner as place for public debate and demonstrations; a bit of history, with Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain; cultural activities, with British Summer Time and Winter Wonderland as key seasonal events; and 350 acres of green space where one can get lost.
Hyde Park dates back to 1536 and it belonged to the monks of Westminster Abbey until Henry VIII bought it. Back then he was often seen hunting deer with his court. Hyde Park remained private until 1637, when Charles I opened it to the public.
In 1665, during the Great Plague, Hyde Park sheltered citizens who wanted to escape from the disease from the city and camp there.
Hyde Park's reputation as a place for national celebration also dates back to a long time ago: to 1814, when the Prince Regent decided to organise fireworks to mark the end of the Napoleonic wars.
2. St James's Park
Credit: All-free-photos.com
Although the famous pelicans and the hordes of tourists photographing squirrels are what come to mind when thinking of this park, St James’s is probably the green space with most royal history. And because of the strong influence of the royalty St James’s has changed and evolved accordingly.
It was the garden where Henry VIII used to breed young deers. Also, St James’s was home to camels, crocodiles and elephants as King James I decided bring exotic animals in on his ascension to the throne.
St James's Park was also where King Charles decided to take his final stroll before being executed on 30 January 1649. The chosen route started at St James’s park and ended at the place of his execution: White Hall.
3. Regent's Park
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
This "green lung" is located in north-west London and covers 395 acres of space. Regent’s Park was the property of the Church until, following the dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII appropriated the land. It has been Crown property ever since. Its big extension made it ideal as a hunting ground, an activity that Henry VIII used to practise there.
The park contains sculptures, monuments, and buildings of historical interest including Queen’s Mary’s Rose Gardens and St Johns Lodge. It is also the largest outdoor sporting area in London.
During the summer, it hosts the Open Air Theatre and gathers families that want to visit the London Zoo or Primrose Hill, also part of this iconic garden.
4. Kensington Gardens
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
You will recognise this space by its magnificent avenues planted with trees and flower beds. Its 265 green acres include the Albert Memorial monument located opposite the Royal Albert Hall, the magnificent Italian Gardens, the Serpentine Gallery, and the famous Peter Pan Statue.
Other highlights include Queen Caroline Temple, the statue of Edward Jenner (inventor of the smallpox vaccine), and the Arch by Henry Moore.
The gardens were originally included within Hyde Park, that was created by Henry VIII in 1536. However, in 1728 Queen Caroline requested its separation from Hyde Park. Since it was fenced, it has been regarded as more “private” and “smart” compared to Hyde Park.
5. The Green Park
Green Park. Credit: Neil Howard via flickr
Widely known as “Green Park" this is the smallest of the royal gardens, but still as important as the other seven.
Its reduced size - only 47 acres- may be one of the reasons why it doesn’t have any body of water. It is the only Royal Park that doesn’t have lakes or ponds. It also has very few monuments as opposed to the rest.
During the 17th and the 18th centuries the park was located at the outskirts of London and became known for being a haunt of highwaymen and thieves.
Apart from robberies, this iconic Garden also went down in history as the place where Edward Oxford attempted to kill Queen Victoria on June 1840.
