Buckingham Palace Gardens, Westminster, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest:    

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Up to the end of the 18th century the ground around the site of Buckingham Palace was largely open country divided into fields. In 1608-16099 King James I endeavoured to establish a silk industry in England and had mulberry trees planted in part of what was then St James's Park, to the north of the present site of Buckingham Palace. The scheme was not a success and eventually, in 1640, the interest in the Mulberry Garden was sold to Lord Goring who owned neighbouring Goring House. After the Restoration however in 1660, Lord Goring lost his title to Goring House and it became the property of Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington, a life-long favourite of King Charles II. Following a disastrous fire in about 1674, Arlington rebuilt Goring House, renaming it Arlington House. After inheriting the property in 1685 Arlington's daughter, the Duchess of Grafton, sold it to John Sheffield, Earl of Mulgrave, later (1703) the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham rebuilt the by then ruinous Arlington House and enlarged the site, buying the neighbouring Crow Fields to the north-west and incorporating a small part of St James's Park. He located his new house, subsequently renamed Buckingham House, on the main axis of St James's Park. This was done in such a way that it looked as if the whole of that park was his own. He employed Henry Wise (1653-1738), master gardener to Queen Anne, to make improvements to the gardens and Wise laid out a formal garden largely to the east of the new house (Plumtre 1981). The Duke of Buckingham died in 1721 and the property passed first to his wife and then to his son Charles Herbert who, in 1761, sold it to the Crown. George III used Buckingham House as a refuge from the formality of St James's Palace. George IV rebuilt the house from 1826, renaming it Buckingham Palace, and at the same time remodelled the garden. William Townsend Aiton, Superintendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, was given the job of landscaping the grounds and in doing so largely removed the formal garden made by Henry Wise. Aiton's work continued during the reign of William IV and he was still involved, probably undertaking maintenance works, when the young Victoria came to the throne (1837).

After the death of Victoria in 1901 the Palace was renovated and the Queen Victoria Memorial created to the east, the architect being Sir Aston Webb (1849-1930). The 19th century framework of the garden was maintained, with additional trees and shrubs being planted and areas of bedding and borders made during subsequent years. The Palace was damaged in the Second World War but the royal family stayed in residence. Since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the gardens, while largely being retained for private use, have become a venue for regular large royal garden parties.