PIN St James Square

Green Square St. James

This beautiful little square is the only one in the district of St.James and provides an ideal break for the weary London visitor in need of a rest. A tarmac path with rolled gravel skirts the square with a shrub bed and railings adjacent to the road. The four paths join a central circular path around a central circular grass area with a statue man on horseback on a plinth in the centre of the square entitled Gulielmus III.

The square is predominantly surrounded by Georgian and neo-Georgian architecture and remains a privately owned and managed garden.

Open at 8 am and closed a 16:30 pm

History

St James's Square was built after the restoration of Charles II (in 1660) on land belonging to Henry Jermyn. In the 1720s the houses were occupied by seven dukes and seven earls. The central area was conceived as a piazza and largely paved. In 1726/7 the landscape gardener designed water basin for the centre of the square. It cost was £5630 and was a 150 foot diamater circle, surrounded by gravel, with an iron railing forming an octagon. The angles of the railings had lamps on stone obelisks. The square was paved in Purbeck Stone and much admired. The fountain was a single jet of water. In 1808 a statue of William III was placed on the plinth. In 1817-18 a larger garden area was enclosed, to a plan by John Nash, and planted with shrubs. In 1822 John Macadam designed a macadamised road for the square, replacing the stone paving.Lime trees were planted in the garden in 1825. The basin became shady and in 1853 it was filled in. There was an American YMCA in the square at the end of the 1914-18 War and after its removal the paths were re-organised to allow views of the statue.The square now belongs to the St James's Square Trust and is open to public Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm

How to get there ?

8 min walk from the Piccadily overground station. (Bakerloo line)

Bus stop in the Panmall street; 5 min walk to the square.

History

St James's Square is the only square in the exclusive St James's district of the City of Westminster. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture and a garden in the centre. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or four most fashionable residential multi-owner estates in London. It is now home to the headquarters of a number of well-known businesses, including BP and Rio Tinto Group; to four private members' clubs, the East India Club, the Naval and Military Club, the Canning Club, and the Army and Navy Club; to the High Commission of Cyprus; and to the London Library. Also based in the square is the premises of the think tank Chatham House. A principal feature of the square is an equestrian statue of William III erected in 1808.

Owner

Sarah Kuszowski

I'm a French girl exploring London. I'm 18 years old and im student for the Parc Iimperial in Nice for buisness.I'm here to practice my English and learn more about London. I am working with TripTide as an intern...