{"id":261,"date":"2023-01-14T20:50:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T20:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/?page_id=261"},"modified":"2026-02-19T09:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T09:58:44","slug":"st-jamess","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/st-jamess\/","title":{"rendered":"Westminster and St James’s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Westminster is such a fascinating place historically. When the Romans founded London in 44 CE it was down river from here in the area now known as the City. Westminster at that time was an island called Thorney Island surrounded by marshes. There was a small monastary there in 785 CE. but it was not until King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century that it gained its significance as a centre for both the crown and religion. He built here not only his palace, but the mighty Westminster Abbey, consecrated in 1065. It was here that the Norman King William the Conqueror was crowned after the Battle of Hastings one year later. It was still separate from the city, joined only by a track along the Thames known as the Strand which became lined with huge mansions for the heads of the church, nobility and the law. Now home to the British Parliament as well as the Abbey and Buckingham Palace, it retains its unique significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Palaces, parliament, ministries, grandeur, statues, parks, history – here you will find Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Mall, Horseguard’s parade, 10 Downing Street, and Westminster Abbey; but there is also the prettiest royal park, St James with its incredible pelicans, elegant St James’ Square, and one of my favourite places in the whole of London – hidden just behind Westminster Abbey you can walk through secluded Deans Yard then continue out through the back gate and follow my walking route through a little maze of historic houses to Smith Square. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This route takes you past all the sights avoiding the busy main roads, but you’ll also discover the galleries and men’s tailoring of St James’ and the historic area just behind Westminster Abbey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Westminster is such a fascinating place historically. When the Romans founded London in 44 CE it was down river from here in the area now known as the City. Westminster at that time was an island called Thorney Island surrounded by marshes. There was a small monastary there in 785 CE. but it was not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-261","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3564,"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/261\/revisions\/3564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestbitsoflondon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}