The
Royal Parks of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
are lands originally owned by the monarchy of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
or the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
for the recreation (mostly hunting) of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of the Crown.
The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favour of the Crown, although there may be public rights of way across the land.
The
Royal Parks of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
are lands originally owned by the monarchy of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
or the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
for the recreation (mostly hunting) of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of the Crown.
The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favour of the Crown, although there may be public rights of way across the land. The Royal Parks Agency manages the Royal Parks under powers derived from s22 Crown Lands Act 1851. As part of its statutory management function the Agency permits the public to use the Parks for recreational purposes, subject to regulations issued under the Parks Regulation Acts 1872–1926 which are considered necessary to secure proper management, preserve order and prevent abuse within the Parks. The current regulations are the Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997
With increasing urbanisation of London, some of these were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public
parkA park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas....
s. There are today eight parks formally described by this name and they cover almost of land in
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
.
- Bushy Park
Bushy Park is the second largest of the Royal Parks of London, at in area, and lies immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park, a few minutes' walk west of Kingston upon Thames...
, 445 hectares (1,099 acres)
- The Green Park
Green Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. Covering , it lies between London's Hyde Park and St. James's Park...
, 19 hectares (47 acres)
- Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed , it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. It commands fine views over the River Thames, Isle of...
, 74 hectares (183 acres)
- Hyde Park
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, 142 hectares (350 acres)
- Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. Most of it is in the City of Westminster, but a small section to the west is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, 111 hectares (275 acres)
- The Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the northern part of central London partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden.It contains Regent's College and the London Zoo....
, 166 hectares (410 acres)
- Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a urban park within London UK. Almost three times as large as New York City's Central Park, it is Britain's largest urban walled park, and the largest of the Royal Parks in London. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen....
, 955 hectares (2360 acres)
- St. James's Park
St. James's Park is a 23 hectare park in Westminster, central London, the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St. James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less....
, 23 hectares (58 acres)
- Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in West Brompton, a part of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven. Established by Act of Parliament, it opened in 1840 and was originally known as the...
, 16.5 hectares
Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (which are adjacent), Green Park, Regent's Park and St James's Park are the largest green spaces in
central LondonThe term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles on areas both north and south of the...
. Bushy Park, Greenwich Park and Richmond Park are in the suburbs.
Brompton CemeteryBrompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in West Brompton, a part of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven. Established by Act of Parliament, it opened in 1840 and was originally known as the...
, although not a park, is another of the green spaces managed by Royal Parks.
They are managed by
The Royal ParksThe Royal Parks is an organisation within the UK Government that manages the eight Royal Parks and certain other areas of garden and parkland in London.They are an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
(an
executive agencyAn executive agency, also known as a next-step agency, is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate in order to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly or Northern Ireland...
of the
Department for Culture, Media and SportThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, for example broadcasting...
) and are policed by the
Royal Parks Operational Command UnitThe Royal Parks Operational Command Unit is a unit of the Metropolitan Police which has responsibility for policing the Royal Parks found in central London....
of the
Metropolitan PoliceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for policing within Greater London, excluding the 'square mile' of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police....
(the English section of the previous force policing the parks, the
Royal Parks ConstabularyThe Royal Parks Constabulary was the police force formerly responsible for the Royal Parks in London and a number of other locations in Greater London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland; it now only exists in Scotland as part of Historic Scotland....
, has been abolished). The main form of funding for the Royal Parks is a central government grant. This contrasts with most of London's other parks, which are funded by local borough councils. The Royal Parks generates additional income from commercial activities such as catering and staging public events such as concerts.
The
Royal Parks FoundationThe Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity established in 1993 whose purpose is the protection and preservation of London’s Royal Parks....
is a registered charity which raises funds to protect, support and create new opportunities within the Parks. They have a number of membership schemes such as adoption and champion programmes.
External links