Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London. It covers 350 acres (1.4 sq km). Hyde Park continues into Kensington Gardens, which adds an additional 275 acres of parkland.

The founding of Hyde Park goes back to 1536, when King Henry VIII the manor of Hyde from Westminster Abbey, and used it as a deer park. It was a private hunting ground until King James I allowed limited access to gentlefolk. King Charles I opened the park to the general public in 1637.

Hyde ParkHyde Park
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N2_Hyde_Park.jpg
Author: Panos Asproulisphoto licensing

In 1689, King William III moved into Notthingham House on the far side of Hyde Park. He renamed it Kensington Palace. He laid a road linking the palace to St James's Palace, and called the road Route du Roi. However it was mispronounced in English, and became known as Rotten Row instead.

The first landscaping on Hyde Park was done by Charles Bridgeman for Queen Caroline. It was under the supervision of Charles Withers, Surveyor-General of Woods and Forest, who took some credit for it. Bridgeman's creation includes the waterway called The Serpentine, formed by damming the Westbourne stream that flowed through the park.

Places of interest in and around Hyde Park


List of Parks in London

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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