St. James's Square

St. James's Square is the only square in the exclusive St James's district of the City of Westminster. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture and a private garden in the centre. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or four most fashionable residential address in London. It is now home to the headquarters of a number of well-known businesses, including BP and Rio Tinto Group; to two private members' clubs, the East India Club and the Naval and Military Club; to the High Commission of Cyprus; and to the London Library. Also based in the square is the premises of the think tank Chatham House. The square's main feature is an equestrian statue of William III erected in 1808.

History

In 1662 Charles II extended a lease over the 45 acres of Pall Mall (St James's) Field held by Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans to 1720 and soon afterwards the earl began to lay out the property for development. The earl petitioned the king that the class of occupants they both hoped to attract to the new district would not take houses without the prospect of eventually acquiring them outright, and in 1665 the king granted the freehold of the site of St. James's Square and some closely adjacent parts of the field to the earl's trustees. The location was convenient for the royal palaces of Whitehall and St James. The houses on the east, north and west sides of the square were soon developed, each of them being constructed separately as was usual at that time.

St James's

Coordinates: 51°30′31″N 0°07′59″W / 51.5085°N 0.1330°W / 51.5085; -0.1330

St James's is a central district in London in the City of Westminster, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy and around the 19th century formed the focus of the development of gentlemen's clubs. Anciently part of the parish of St Martin in the Fields, much of it formed the parish of St James from 1685 to 1922. Since the Second World War the area has transitioned from residential to commercial use.

History

Toponymy

The name is derived from the dedication of a 12th-century leper hospital to Saint James the Less. The site of the hospital is now occupied by St James's Palace. The area has been known as "Clubland" because of the historic presence of gentlemen's clubs.

Urban development

St James's was once part of the same royal park as Green Park and St. James's Park. In the 1660s, Charles II gave the right to develop the area to Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, who proceeded to develop it as a predominantly aristocratic residential area with a grid of streets centred on St James's Square. Until the Second World War, St James's remained one of the most exclusive residential enclaves in London. Famous residences in St James's include St James's Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House, Lancaster House, Spencer House, Schomberg House, Norfolk House and Bridgewater House.

St. James's (novel)

St. James's is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1844. It describes the events surrounding the end of Queen Anne's reign and the dispute between the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough with two Tories for influence over the queen.

Background

While Ainsworth served as editor for his own magazine, Ainsworth's Magazine, he included many of his own works. Of these, Saint James's or the Court of Queen Anne, An Historical Romance ran from January 1844 until December 1844. It was also published as a three volume set in 1844 by John Mortimer. The work was illustrated by George Cruikshanks, which marks the last time that Ainsworth and Cruikshanks collaborated on a novel.

Story

Of all of Ainsworth's novels, the plot of St. James's is almost non-existent. The story takes place during the end of Queen Anne's reign. She was friends with the Duchess of Marlborough, and two Tories, Robert Harley and Henry St John, want to separate the Duchess and the queen. After plotting, they are finally able to separate the two, which allows them to remove the Duke of Marlborough from the queen's favour. Without the Duke around, Harley is made Earl of Oxford and St. John made Viscount of Bolingbroke. When Queen Anne dies, Harley and St. John turn against each other and soon lose their status at court.

Dublin St James's (UK Parliament constituency)

St James's, a division of Dublin, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the British House of Commons 1918–1922, using the first past the post electoral system.

Prior to the 1918 general election, the city was divided into four constituencies: the Dublin College Green, Dublin Harbour, Dublin St Patrick's and Dublin St Stephen's Green constituencies. In 1918, the city was allocated seven seats: St James's, the existing four constituencies, Dublin Clontarf and Dublin St Michan's.

From the dissolution of 1922, the area was no longer represented in the UK Parliament.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised part of the city of Dublin.

Sinn Féin used the election of 1918 to elect members of the Irish Republic's First Dáil. In Republican theory every MP elected in Ireland was entitled to become a Teachta Dála (known in English as a Deputy) in the Dáil, although only the Sinn Féin members participated.