The Duke of Wellington Tour – Video Highlights – Part Four – St. James's Street

ST. JAMES’S STREET, LONDON

Kristine and Victoria have a very special day planned for Sunday, September 7th – a walking tour of the St. James’s area of London. Below you’ll find highlights of just a few of the places we’ll be visiting as we take a meandering walk, during which you’ll hear tales about gentlemen’s clubs and famed personalities who frequented the area. Hear tales of bawdy houses, royal chapels, and courtesans. Explore hidden alleys and tucked away streets. Discover their connections to duels, downfalls, and dandies before we quench our thirst at some of London’s most historic and atmospheric pubs. The day also includes time to stop for snacks, lunch, and a bit of shopping.

We’ll leave our hotel, the Grosvenor, at Victoria Station and walk up to Buckingham Palace 

From there, we’ll take a peek into St. James’s and Green Park before turning down The Mall to pass Clarence House and take a short cut up to St. James’s Palace and St. James’s Street. Click here to watch a video of a stroll down the Street .

Arriving at St. James’s Street, we’ll steep ourselves in Georgian and Regency history as we stroll past the shopfronts of such venerable institutions as Lock’s Hatters and Berry Brothers and Rudd. We’ll pass the iconic and fabled gentlemen’s clubs – Brooks’s Club, Boodles and, of course, White’s, where we’ll stroll by the famous bow window, where Brummell held court.

At the top of the Street, we’ll arrive at Piccadilly, where we’ll have plenty of time to see the Royal Academy (formerly Burlington House) and explore Hatchard’s Bookstore (above) and Fortnum and Mason. We’ll stop for tea at Richoux Tea Rooms, a favourite haunt of Victoria and Kristine’s.

Afterwards, we’ll cross the street in order to see the Burlington Arcade, the longest covered shopping street in the world. The Burlington Arcade (above) was built from designs by Ware for Lord George Cavendish in 1815, and is ‘famous,’ as Leigh Hunt tells us, ‘for small shops and tall beadles.’ What’s a beadle, you ask? Click here to find out. For more on Piccadilly and it’s environs, see my prior post here. More soon!