St. James's

St. James's

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= St James's
latitude= 51.5085
longitude= -0.1330
london_borough= Westminster
constituency_westminster= Cities of London and Westminster
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area=SW
postcode_district=SW1
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ295805

St James's is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. It is bounded to the north by Piccadilly, to the west by Green Park, to the south by The Mall and St James's Park and to the east by The Haymarket.

History

St James's was once part of the same royal park as Green Park and St. James's Park. In the 1660s, Charles II gave the right to develop the area to Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, who proceeded to develop it as a predominantly aristocratic residential area with a grid of streets centred on St James's Square.

Until the Second World War, St James's remained one of the most exclusive residential enclaves in London. Famous residences in St James's include St James's Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House, Lancaster House, Spencer House, Schomberg House and Bridgewater House. It is now a predominantly commercial area with some of the highest rents in London and, consequently, the world. Corporate offices in St James's include the global headquarters of BP and Rio Tinto Group. The auction house Christie's is based in King Street, and the surrounding streets contain a great many upmarket art and antique dealers.

St James's is also the home of many of the best known gentlemen's clubs in London, and is sometimes, though not as often as formerly, referred to as "Clubland". The "clubs" found here are organisations of English high society. A variety of groups congregate here, such as: royals, military officers, motoring enthusiasts, and other groups. In 1990, the Carlton Club, traditional meeting place for members of the Conservative Party, was struck by an IRA bomb. See List of London's gentlemen's clubs. In a similar vein, the area is also home to fine wine merchants Justerini and Brooks and Berry Brothers and Rudd, at numbers 61 and 3 St James's Street respectively. Adjoining St James's Street is Jermyn Street, famous for its many tailors. St James's is also famous for being home to some of the most famous cigar retailers in London. At 35 St James's Street is Davidoff of London, 19 St James's Street is home to J.J. Fox and 50 Jermyn St has Dunhill; this makes the area a Cuban cigar haven.

The area has a good number of art galleries, covering a spectrum of tastes. The White Cube gallery, which represents Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, had originally opened in Duke Street, St James's, then moved to Hoxton Square. In September 2006, it opened a second gallery in St James's at 25–26 Mason's Yard, off Duke Street, on a plot previously occupied by an electricity sub-station. The gallery, designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates, is the first free-standing building to be built in the St James's area for more than 30 years.

Notable streets

These include:
*St James's Square, which retains many of its original houses, but mostly in office use. The London Library is located here.
*Jermyn Street, an upmarket retail street best known for fine shirts.
*Pall Mall, which contains many of London's gentlemen's clubs.
*The Haymarket, once the best known centre of prostitution in London, but no trace of this remains now. Contains two of London's most historic theatres, the Haymarket Theatre and Her Majesty's Theatre.
*Carlton House Terrace, a pair of grand terraces of houses designed by John Nash overlooking St James's Park.
*St James's Street which runs down from Piccadilly to St James's Palace.

Education

:"For education in PAGENAME see the main City of Westminster article."

External links

* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=292 St James Westminster, Part 1] - a volume of the "Survey of London" which provides a very detailed architectural history of most of St James's. However a few sections of the parish of St James's fall outside the district, so they are omitted ( [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=40539&filename=figD.gifmap] ).
* [http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=529387&y=180302&z=1&sv=529387,180302&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf Map of St James's and surrounding areas]
* [http://www.a-london-guide.co.uk/information/default.asp?type=London+Areas&subtype=details&attractionID=19 Clubland at Virtual London]
* [http://www.touruk.co.uk/london_stjames/london_stjames.htm Tourist Information on St James's]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James I of Scotland — James I King of Scots Reign 4 April 1406 – 21 February 1437 Coronation 21 May 1424 Predecessor …   Wikipedia

  • James II of England — James II redirects here. For other uses, see James II (disambiguation). James II VII[1] King of England, Scotland a …   Wikipedia

  • James (Name) — James ist eine englische Form des Vornamens Jakob, was die latinisierte Form des hebräischen Namens יַעֲקֹב (Ja aqov) ist. Er wird in Filmen und Romanen gerne klischeehaft als Name für einen Butler benutzt. Bekannte Kurzformen sind Jim, Jimmy,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Bond — James Bond, auch bekannt als 007, ist ein Geheimagent des britischen Geheimdienstes MI6, der 1952 vom Schriftsteller Ian Fleming erfunden und vor allem durch die seit den 1960er Jahren erfolgreiche Filmreihe weltbekannt wurde. Heute gilt die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Last Band — James Last 2006 James Last (* 17. April 1929 in Bremen; mit bürgerlichem Namen Hans Last) ist ein deutscher Bandleader, Komponist, Arrangeur und Musikproduzent. Er prägte mit seinem vierzigköpfigen Orchester den Happy Sound, mit dem er ab 1965… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • James Bond 007 — James Bond  Cet article concerne le personnage imaginaire. Pour les autres significations, voir James Bond (homonymie). James Bond …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James bond —  Cet article concerne le personnage imaginaire. Pour les autres significations, voir James Bond (homonymie). James Bond …   Wikipédia en Français

  • James — James, Henry James, Henry James, William * * * (as used in expressions) Agee, James Anderson, (James) Maxwell Audubon, John James Baldwin, James (Arthur) Balfour (de Whittingehame), Arthur James, 1 conde Ballard, J(ames) G(raham) Barrie, Sir… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • James V of Scotland — James V Anonymous portrait of James V, probably contemporary King of Scots Reign 9 September 1513 – 14 December 1542 Coronation …   Wikipedia

  • James IV of Scotland — James IV redirects here. See also James IV of Majorca. James IV King of Scots Reign 11 June 1488–9 September 1513 Coronation 24 June 1488 …   Wikipedia

  • James III of Scotland — James III King of Scots Reign 3 August 1460 – 11 June 1488 Coronation 10 August 1460 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”