Westminster, Whitehall, St James’s
Return of the King: Westminster in the 1660s
The restoration saw the return of Charles II, a very “merry monarch”, with his glamorous mistresses, flamboyant court and strange “touching” ceremonies. It brought in a new power settlement, the flourishing of science and the vast expansion of London to the west: in many ways, the transition to a modern country.
Richard’s walk leads you through the action-packed time of Charles’ II first ten years on the throne, the main players and nation-changing events. We plot a course through Westminster and Whitehall and St James’s Park into St James’s and end at Burlington House.
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The Great Fire of Westminster
Everyone’s heard about The Great Fire of London, but who's heard of the Great Fire of Westminster? Few people seem to know about the epic blaze on the night of 16 October 1834 which almost entirely destroyed the Houses of Parliament!
On my walk around Whitehall, I tell the story of that apocalyptic night. I take you virtually along the streets and onto the bridge where thousands gawped at the destruction in horror and awe. An event marked equally by farce as by acts of heroism, the fire took place on the cusp of the Victorian age. And arising from the flames... the iconic, though currently somewhat dilapidated, Houses of Parliament we know today.
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The Extreme Pleasures of Wellington’s London
The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of a series of great wars determining the fate of Europe and balance of power for the next 100 years.
Meanwhile, London society indulged in extravagant diversions: gambling which could lead to rack and ruin, outrageous balls known as routs, public exhibitions which virtually led to riots and fierce bare-knuckle boxing which was seen as an expression of British culture. Richard’s “alternative” Waterloo walk around St James’s explores these Regency entertainments and others, whilst showing Wellington’s stomping grounds and places where the battle was reported and commemorated.
Palaces, Pelicans and Prostitutes
St James’s Park has had quite a roller coaster existence. In the middle ages, It was marshy land used by leprosy sufferers to care for pigs. Henry 8 seized it to form part of his great hunting ground. It was Charles II’s ornate back garden and into the eighteenth century developed a double life, with prostitution rife in the evening. Today, [REVISE]
Richard ‘s tour brings out the sauciness as well as the ceremony of the history of St James’s Park.
London, the War and 1916
1916 was a momentous year for the progress of the war. The Battle of the Somme looms large in the public consciousness due to the appalling numbers of lives lost. The year also saw the introduction of conscription, a new Commander-in-Chief of the British army on the western front and intensified food shortages and blackouts with the constant fear of German air raids at home.
My walk takes in the war memorials and important sites in Whitehall and around St James's Park to tell the story of these events. I also take in some of the history of St James's park, the first and one of the finest London Royal Parks.