Long-time London resident and avid museum and theatre-goer. I started this blog in 2014, and got serious about it in 2020 when I realised how much I missed arts and culture during lockdowns. I go to a lot more events than anyone would think is sensible, and love sharing my thoughts in the forms of reviews, the occasional thought piece, and travel recommendations when I leave my London HQ.
An illustrated walk around the nooks and crannies of St James’s, including Piccadilly and Green Park. If this doesn’t whet your appetite for seeking out London’s hidden sights, then nothing will!
The inspiration for today’s walk comes from Andrew Duncan’s book Secret London, seen here amongst the daffodils at Green Park.
St James’s – Where Is That Again?
St James’s is an area of London which many may pass through without a second thought. Unless you happen to be in the market for boutique treats, cigars or luxury menswear and grooming products, St James’s is a few streets to be traversed between Piccadilly Circus and either Green Park, St James’s Park (which we recently saw on this walk), or Buckingham Palace. In its own right, however, it is an interesting place of old-fashioned charm. Andrew Duncan in his book Secret London (which we also followed West of St Paul’s) encapsulates the essence of St James’s by focusing on its alleys and courtyards. These are numerous, sometimes hard to find, but often have points of real interest. I have worked around St James’s on and off for a decade, but still learned new things on this walk. Let’s explore the neighbourhood together!
Piccadilly Circus To Jermyn Street
Let’s begin at Piccadilly Circus, the recommended start and end point of our walk today. These images are a real record of lockdown; Piccadilly Circus is normally bustling with tourists and locals at any time of day. I did this walk before shops reopened, so the famous advertising billboards were promoting their products to nobody but the odd passer-by.
To get our walk underway we head down Piccadilly. The name comes from ‘pickadil’, a type of collar or ruff made nearby in the early 17th Century. This major London thoroughfare runs from Piccadilly Circus past the Royal Academy and Green Park to Hyde Park Corner.
St James’s church church, a Wren design, is about a block down Piccadilly. The book recommends you pass straight through in order to reach Jermyn Street on the other side, but since the church is currently closed let’s linger here for a moment instead. The church was consecrated in 1684, and heavily damaged during WWII. The outdoor pulpit you can see in the bottom image dates to 1902. St James’s church tends to be fairly radical and politically engaged; its raised gardens also double as a nice lunch spot.
And by doing a little bit of backtracking, we arrive at Jermyn Street. Once as important for shopping as Piccadilly, today it is much quieter and more high end.
From Shopping Arcades to Members’ Clubs
Between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street (and between neighbouring streets as well) run several shopping arcades. They aren’t quite as evocative as Paris’s famous arcades, but are similarly exclusive and intriguing. As you can see, they took different approaches to how open or closed to the public they should be during lockdown. Between the two arcades we pass the back of Fortnum & Mason, luxury food shop extraordinaire.
Did you spot the statue in front of Piccadilly Arcade? It is a monument to Beau Brummell, a man so fashionable he was one of the most well-known figures in Regency England. A proto-‘influencer’ perhaps? He was certainly a dandy, and revolutionised men’s fashion to focus on high-quality, well-tailored garments over ornate detailing. Eventually he fled England for France to escape debts. This 2002 statue is by Irena Sedlecká.
Further along towards Green Park, Jermyn Street becomes Bennet Street, before we turn into Arlington Street. I never knew before that Arlington Street was not a dead end – let’s see where these stairs take us!
We emerge on the rather impressive Park Place. At the very end (top image, between the maroon and white buildings) is the Royal Over-Seas League. This is a private members’ club dedicated to international understanding and friendship. They also have a nice garden backing onto Green Park. Our book says they hold art exhibitions which are an opportunity to get in and see the club, but obviously not right now.
Blue Ball Yard to Green Park
Running parallel to Park Place is this former mews with a great name – Blue Ball Yard. The name, it seems, comes from a demolished pub, the Blue Ball Tavern. Not anything else you might have been thinking of. The 1741 coach houses are now an annexe of the Stafford Hotel along with a bar (The American); the horsey theme persists in the naming of the hotel rooms. Underground, cellars which were once an air raid shelter are now a dining room and storage for 2,000 bottles of wine.
Briefly back onto St James’s Street before we dive into our next (almost) blind alley, St James’s Place.
Chopin is one of several notable people who have lived on this tranquil side street. A few doors down and a century apart, Sir Francis Chichester (also mentioned here) once resided.
The secluded Duke’s Hotel was formerly chambers for wealthy bachelors. I wonder if we should go back to living in chambers? Might solve some of the housing problems we face.
Spencer House was the London townhouse of the Spencer family, as in Princess Diana’s lot, although it’s currently leased out. I never knew, however, that it’s normally open to the public on Sundays. I will add that to my post-Covid list. We will see it again shortly from the more attractive Green Park side.
And another rather nice hotel in the form of the Stafford (we saw the annexe earlier in Blue Ball Yard) before we take this slightly forbidding path through to Green Park.
Around St James’s Palace
Here are a couple of the lovely and rather palatial aristocratic homes which can be seen from Green Park. First up is the garden of neoclassical Spencer House. I stopped for lunch while I was in the park, so you get a lovely view of it through the daffodils. And then next door is Bridgewater House. A stately home has stood here since the 1620s; this version dates to 1840. After WWII bomb damage it became an office block, before a Greek shipping magnate purchased it in 1981.
Yet another technically-private alleyway brings us to Cleveland Row, between Bridgewater House and Selwyn House. We then pass along the side of St James’s Palace, the only royal palace which is completely closed to the public. Largely built by Henry VIII, it is still home to several royals. This side is rather boring but we will get to some nicer looking bits shortly.
A quick peek down Russell Court, where the former mews buildings are looking a lot more modernised, and more exclusive.
Here we have the more interesting public face of St James’s Palace. In the second image, the stained glass windows mark the location of the Chapel Royal. The Chapel Royal was initially a concept. It moved around wherever the monarch went, including to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. As the royal family settled down a bit more, so did the Chapel, and it is now based here full time. It occupies an original Tudor part of the palace, including a ceiling by Hans Holbein. The coats of arms of two of Henry VIII’s wives appear, which helps to date the work. It’s surprisingly hard to find a good image – this was about the best I could do.
Pall Mall to Angel Court
Berry Bros. & Rudd is something of a London institution. As you can see from the shop front, it’s been around since approximately forever – 1698 to be precise. On a couple of occasions they have been able to acquire additional cellar space with space for 200,000+ bottles, and so can produce almost any wine from a relatively small shop front. The second image is from Pickering Place behind Berry Bros., described by Duncan as “the prettiest little courtyard in St James’s.”
An oddity of Pickering Place is that it was formerly the site of the Embassy of the Republic of Texas. Texas was a sovereign state from 1836 to 1846 (although Mexico considered it to be a rebellious province). Their Ambassador to the Court of St James’s was based at this quiet little square. Pickering Place was also apparently the site of a duel involving Beau Brummell, who we saw earlier, but that may just be an urban legend.
There are several other historic shops in the area, including the hatters Lock & Co.
There are two parallel alleys which run between St James’s St and King St. The first is Crown Passage. Despite my very dark and dingy pictures (sorry!), it is normally very busy and full of life. As well as the shops and cafes, there is the Red Lion pub at one end of the passage. If only I could stop in for a drink on my walk!
The parallel alley, Angel Court, is much more sedate. No shops, and not many pedestrians passing through. At one time, however, it was home to the St James’s Theatre. Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh were the managers at one time. The theatre was demolished in 1957 after some underhand planning approvals – today only the sculptural frieze remains.
King Street to Ormond Yard
Christie’s auction house, established 1766, has stood on King Street (spot the red flag) for many a year. I know this better than most, but the best thing about London’s auction houses is that you can stroll in and see world class art exhibitions which change week to week. Or at least you can normally. I went on this walk while retail establishments were still closed, so we have to make do looking through the window. Do you like the Gormley?
What is this big white cube-like building, you may ask? Well, it is the White Cube Gallery, Mason’s Yard. This is near the original site of the White Cube Gallery, and the current building was once an electrical substation. They have now reopened with a Gilbert & George exhibition that I’m hoping to see. Prior to all this art business going on, Mason’s Yard was a stableyard for St James’s Square nearby.
Also in Mason’s Yard is the London Library – dating to 1845 although the extension is obviously later. It seems a lovely place to browse for a book.
We leave Mason’s Yard through this hidden exit, and emerge into Ormond Yard. We are edging ever closer to Piccadilly via the back alleyways.
Duncan describes this as Briggs barber shop, “a favourite resort for clubs and business types”, but sadly it is gone now. I remember it being there still a year or two ago, but always rather quiet.
Back to Piccadilly
Do you recognise St James’s Church in the corner? We have circled back to Jermyn Street via Duke of York Street. Geo. F. Trumper is another old-fashioned and luxurious spot for gentlemen’s grooming.
Last stop on our tour of hidden alleys and courtyards of St James’s is Babmaes Street. This blind alley with two ‘dog leg’ turns is named for Baptist May, an advisor to the aristocratic family who developed this area. There are some huge mansions, and at the end is a little coach house last used as such in 1942
Our book recommends heading back to Piccadilly Circus Station, but on a sunny day it is a nice opportunity to backtrack to St. James’s Square. You can see it at the end of Duke of York’s Street. I will leave you here – see you next time!
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2 thoughts on “Hidden Alleys and Courtyards of St James’s”
2 thoughts on “Hidden Alleys and Courtyards of St James’s”