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Grand Back Gardens
With royalty, trade and government based in London
the aristocracy and the bishops needed to keep houses
here and some of our best parks are what remains of
their back gardens. When King George VI and Queen
Elizabeth attended a ball at Holland House a few
weeks before the outbreak of World War II they
wouldn’t have known it would be the last to be held
in this Jacobean grand country estate so close to the
centre of London. In September 1940 at the very
beginning of the Blitz the house, once the heart of
a glittering political, social and literary circle that
included Byron, Disraeli and Dickens, was largely
destroyed. What remains is now a youth hostel and
the gardens, where dahlias were first cultivated in
England and that odd folly of proud aristocratic men,
the duel, was once fought, passed to the local council.
Today Holland Park is one of London’s most
romantic public open spaces.
Lambeth Palace, on the River diagonally opposite the
Palace of Westminster has been the London home of
the Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13
th
century.
In the 1860s Archbishop Tait, concerned about the
wellbeing of the poor and underprivileged in London
opened up some of the grounds for 'scores of pale
children to play often in the fresh air.' In 1900
Lambeth Palace Field was turned into a public park
called Archbishops Park. It still borders the Palace –
‘
Oi Bish, can we ‘ave our ball back please?’
Lambeth Palace was the
London
home of the
Archbishops of Canterbury and just five miles
upstream is Fulham Palace - the
country
home of the
Bishops of London. To avoid the filth, overcrowding
and pestilence the Bishop of London and many rich
city merchants built country retreats within reach of
barge or carriage from the City and Westminster.
Greater London is dotted with such refuges and today
many of their gardens survive as public parks open
to all. Examples include Hall Place and Gardens at
Bexley (1500s), Valentines Mansion at Ilford (1600s)
and Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon (1700s).
Deer Parks
When Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, son, brother
and uncle of Kings Henry IV, V and VI inherited the
Manor of Greenwich in 1433 it was a jolly little
fishing village on the River Thames, just off the Old
Dover Road and at sufficient distance from the City
to offer some safety from the pox. Given permission
to enclose 200 acres of land Humphrey built a manor
house called Bella Court on the river surrounded by a
private deer park. Thus Greenwich Park claims its
title as first enclosed and oldest Royal Park. The park
and house passed to the Tudors who built here the
mighty Palace of Placentia, which matched Hampton
Court in size and splendour and was the birth place of
four Tudor monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI,
Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The London 2012
dressage and show jumping arena was built on the
site of the tiltyard for the favourite Royal Tudor sport
of jousting. The Palace of Placentia did not survive.
Sir Christopher Wren would tumble the rubble from
the demolished palace into the river to give him a nice
straight edge to show off his new Royal Hospital for
Seamen that would itself become the Royal Naval
College and today the campus of the University of
Greenwich and Trinity School of Music.