Text 54. Royal parks

London's wealth of open spaces makes it unique among the world's capitals. Parks, gardens and squares break up the mass of tightly packed buildings in its centre, and vast woods and heath land stretch across Greater London. These open spaces are part of the capital's heritage — the parks of kings, the gardens of the nobility, and the common lands which held out against the land-hungry speculators and stopped the wave of urban development.

Much of London's parkland originates from royal whims: a duke's desire for a palace; one king's love of hunting; and another's wish for a good place for his asthma. The open spaces they preserved are now the Royal Parks, still owned by the Crown but which all have a right to enjoy.

The history of Greenwich Park goes back to 1433, when Duke of Gloucester built a palace there called Bella Court. A gatehouse once stood at the entrance to the park. It was there, according to tradition, that Sir Walter Raleigh threw down his cloak so that Elizabeth I should not walk in the mud. He was one of a dozen English noblemen who courted Elizabeth after she became Queen. But being also a navigator he was the only one of her suitors who reached America and named the colonial state Virginia after the Queen of England Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen).

Behind the house the park goes upwards to Blackheath. Avenues of trees criss-cross wide lawns, and the park has an ornamental pond, a bird sanctuary, and a small herd of deer.

Henry VIII's passion for hunting led to the formation of London's three best-known parks — Hyde Park, St James's Park and Regent's Park. In the 16th century the king stocked them with deer, and royal hunts continued to be held there long after his death. The last deer hunt in Hyde Park was held in 1768. Each park became identified with particular monarchs.

In 1635 Charles I opened Hyde Park to the public, and it became a fash­ionable pleasure ground.

In the 18th century Hyde Park was the haunt of thieves and highwaymen, many of whom ended their days at the northeast corner of the park, where they were hanged. Marble Arch stands there now. The park was a place, too, where duelists settled their differences; today it is better known for the verbal duels between the orators at the Speakers' Corner. The arguments have changed since the first speaker stood on an empty box in 1872, but little else in the park has. Hyde Park is still a place to stroll, or even to ride — Rotten Row, a soft-earth path fit for riders on horseback, has been there since the days of William III when it was the royal way.

St James's Park has several royal associations. James I kept his collection of wild animals in cages there. His son Charles I walked through the park on his way to Whitehall where he was beheaded in 1649. After restoration of monarchy in 1660 Charles II redesigned the park in the French style, which was the result of the influence of the years of exile that were spent in France. It was at that time that the park was opened to the public. One of the attractions was an aviary -a place for keeping birds, along the road now called Birdcage Walk.

The Tsar of Russia Alexei, the father of Peter the Great, presented Charles with a pair of pelicans to add to the collection of wild birds on the ornamental lake. They settled and bred, and now pelicans are a familiar sight in the park.

In 1667, Charles II bought Green Park as an extension to St James's Park. The king was fond of walking, and Constitution Hill, which runs alongside Green Park, is said to be called so because he often took his "constitutional" there. Green Park differs from other Royal Parks in that it has no flowerbeds and water. But it lives up its name with wide expanses of grass and stately groups of shady trees.

Regent's Park was opened to the public in 1838. It was named after the Prince Regent, later to become George IV. At the northern end of Regent's Park is the London Zoo, founded in 1828, lying on both banks of the Regent's Canal. Boat trips along the canal start from the Paddington basin, known as Little Venice, and give a picturesque view of the park and zoo with trees overhanging the water.

In the Inner Circle of the park are the rose beds of Queen Mary's Garden and the Open-air Theatre which gives productions of Shakespeare's plays during the summer time.

Answer the following questions:

1. How did the major part of London's parkland originate from royal whims?

2. What is the history of Greenwich Park?

3. How did three best-known parks — Hyde Park, St James's Park and Regent's Park appear?

4. What role did Hyde Park play in the 18^th century?

5. What associations does St James's Park have?

6. When was Regent's Park open?