St James' Square, Westminster

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A 17th century public square and garden developed by Charles Bridgeman in the 18th century, John Nash in the 19th century, and John Brookes in the 20th century.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

St James's Square is situated 240m south-west of Piccadilly Circus and c 300m north of St James's Park (qv). The c 1ha level site is bounded on all four sides by the roads of St James's Square.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

There are four entrances, each centrally placed, which provide access to St James's Square from each direction. All are of similar status although the gate to the north of the site would appear to be the main one by virtue of the fact the statue of King William III faces north.

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

St James's Square is surrounded by terraced C18 town houses, the majority now converted to offices. Of the twenty-five buildings, six are listed grade II; eight grade II*; and three grade I.

The classical summerhouse (listed grade II) designed c 1817-18 by John Nash is situated to the south of the site and faces north. The southern gate was moved a few metres to the east in order that the summerhouse could be placed centrally with its blank back against the southern railings. The building has two pairs of Ionic columns supporting a plain entablature and contains a single bench seat.

GARDENS

The present cruciform design of the garden dates to the second half of the C20 when the square was replanted having been used as allotments during the Second World War. The site is enclosed within iron railings which in 1974 replaced the C18 ones which were removed as part of the war effort in 1941. The dominant feature of the garden is the equestrian statue of King William III (listed grade I) which stands at the centre of the square set on a high plinth and looking towards the north. The statue, designed by John Bacon and executed by his son, also John, between 1805 and 1807, originally stood in the middle of an C18 basin having replaced an earlier fountain. Charles Bridgeman was commissioned to design the central area in 1727. His design included extensive paving, gravel walks, and a fountain in the middle of a circular basin set within an octagonal enclosure. The basin had a diameter of 150ft (45.7m) and archaeological excavations in 1985 showed it to have been 4ft (c 1.2m) deep. The octagonal enclosure consisted of iron railings and eight stone obelisks with lamps on top (Forrest 1986). The pavement outside the enclosure was made from Purbeck flags. The basin was eventually filled in in 1854 when it was decided that this would be cheaper than continually cleaning it out.

To the inside of the peripheral shrubbery is a perimeter path which encloses the four quarters of the lawn. Both the path and shrubbery are shown on the OS 1st edition map of 1867. The lawn is studded with a number of mature plane trees, the oldest one thought to date from 1873 when Lord Derby and Lord Bristol (then residents of the square) measured out the site for additional planting (Forrest 1986).

The centre of the garden is taken up with rectangular shrub beds, planned c 1985 by John Brookes, and small paved paths laid around the statue. Four stone obelisks, similar to those recorded on Horwood's map (1813), are set in the corner of the small beds, all of which are set within a circular tarmac path of c 1854 which encloses an area slightly smaller in diameter than the C18 basin. Centrally placed against the southern fence is the summerhouse, in the south-east corner is an area set aside for storage, and in the south-west corner a paved seating area with C20 bird bath.

In January 2000 work commenced on the redesign of the gardens. The central flower beds, York stone paving, and obelisks will be removed and replaced by grass lawns surrounding the statuary. The paved seating area in the south-west corner is being removed, and the entire perimeter planting is being increased to provide a natural barrier between the garden and surrounding traffic. All works are due to be completed by mid 2000.

REFERENCES

A I Dasent, A History of St James's Square (1895)

E B Chancellor, The History of the Squares of London (1907), pp 80-105

E Cecil, London Parks and Gardens (1907), pp 223-226

G S Cooper, The Outdoor Monuments of London (1928)

Royal Commission Report on London Squares (1928)

B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: The Cities of London and Westminster (1973), pp 644-647

D Forrest, St James's Square (1986)

London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, London Squares (conference proceedings, June 1995)

Maps

Newcourt and Faithorn, London, 1658

J Rocque, Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster and Borough of Southwark and the country near ten miles around, surveyed 1741-1745, published 1746

R Horwood, Map of London, 1792-9, 2nd edition 1813 by William Faden

Bacon, Map of London, 1888

OS 60" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1867

2nd edition published 1894

Description written: January 1998

Amended: February 2000

Edited: January 2002