Despite what you read in regency romances, London was not teeming with parks on every corner for convenient walks with your beaux. And the parks that existed weren’t filled with benches, picnic tables, or swings. Regency London had a few parks, but at the time “park” really meant large tracts of land for grazing or deer hunting. Park also meant an enclosed landscaped area around a country estate, sometimes with grazing animals and typically fashioned to provide a pleasing view from the house.
During the time I set my books, there were three royal parks: Hyde Park, St. James’s Park, and The Green Park and all were in west London. Over time, Georgian London’s royal parks (there are now more) were opened to the public. The Green Park (now they drop ‘the’ while discussing it) is north of the forecourt of Buckingham Palace (then called the Queen’s House). To the south is Constitution Hill (where Charles II took his daily constitutionals) and to the north is Piccadilly.
It was essentially the green space enclosed by Charles II in 1660. He wanted to walk from Hyde Park to St. James’s Park without leaving royal soil. He acquired land between the two established parks, put a brick wall around it, and named it Upper St. James’s Park. It was a former hunting ground with few flowers. The alleged explanation for the lack of ornamentation is that Charles's wife learned he had picked flowers in the park for another woman. In revenge, the Queen ordered every flower in the park be pulled out.
The park was further developed in the 1730s by Queen Caroline, George II's wife. Until this time it was still called Upper St. James Park, but once a pond was filled in and land modernized, it was renamed The Green Park in 1746.
Until Queen Caroline’s improvements, it was just a meadow. It’s a triangular space of about fifty acres between St. James’s and Hyde Park. Queen Caroline built the reservoir known as the Queen’s Basin (seen in the image below). It held drinking water for St. James’s Palace. She made a gravel path from St. James’s Palace to the reservoir along the park’s eastern boundary known as the Queen’s Walk. She also built a library in the park called, yes, the Queen’s Library.
Throughout the eighteenth century, it was still semi-rural and a popular location for duels, and was the haunt of highwaymen. But as the surrounding area urbanized and following Queen Caroline’s improvements, it became more accessible. It hosted fireworks, balloon assents, and other celebrations. By the nineteenth century, it became popular to promenade in the Green Park, especially along the Queen’s Walk on the northeast side.
The picture of London, for 1813, says:
Promenade in The Green Park
In spring and summer the eastern side of the Green Park forms a favourite promenade for the genteel inhabitants of the metropolis; and in fine weather, on every evening, and on Sundays in particular, it is always crowded with well-dressed company. At the north-east corner of this park there is a fine water, which is supplied by the water works of Chelsea, and forms at once a beautiful embellishment a useful reservoir.
My Dear Friend takes place entirely in London the winter after the Netherfield Ball. Darcy and Elizabeth have both subscribed to the slightly shocking matchmaking service and have been paired with an anonymous correspondent. By the time my books are set, Green Park was a popular place to walk, especially to see and be seen. In My Dear Friend, Darcy and Elizabeth have a meeting in the Green Park, but neither one finds the person they expect.
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