- Royal Parks of London
The Royal Parks of
London are lands originally owned by the monarchy ofEngland or theUnited Kingdom for the recreation (mostly hunting) of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of the Crown.The public does not have any legal right to use the Parks, as public access depends on the grace and favour of the Crown, although there may be public rights of way across the land. The Royal Parks Agency manages the Royal Parks under powers derived from s22 Crown Lands Act 1851. As part of its statutory management function the Agency permits the public to use the Parks for recreational purposes, subject to regulations issued under the Parks Regulation Acts 1872–1926 which are considered necessary to secure proper management, preserve order and prevent abuse within the Parks. The current regulations are the Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997
With increasing urbanisation of London, some of these were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public
park s. There are today eight parks formally described by this name and they cover around convert|5500|acre|km2|0|lk=on of land inGreater London .*
Bushy Park
* The Green Park
*Greenwich Park
* Hyde Park
*Kensington Gardens
* The Regent's Park
*Richmond Park
*St. James's Park
*Brompton Cemetery Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (which are adjacent), Green Park, Regent's Park and St James's Park are the largest green spaces in
central London . Bushy Park, Greenwich Park and Richmond Park are in the suburbs.Brompton Cemetery , although not a park, is another of the green spaces managed by Royal Parks.They are managed by
The Royal Parks (anexecutive agency of theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport ) and are policed by the Metropolitan Police (the English section of the previous force policing the parks, theRoyal Parks Constabulary , has been abolished). The main form of funding for the Royal Parks is a central government grant. This contrasts with most of London's other parks, which are funded by local borough councils. The Royal Parks generates additional income from commercial activities such as catering and staging public events such as concerts.The
Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity which raises funds to protect, support and create new opportunities within the Parks. They have a number of membership schemes such as adoption and champion programmes.Gallery
References
*Thurston, Hazel. "Royal Parks For The People: London's Ten". UK and USA: David and Charles. Vancouver: Douglas, David and Charles. 1974. ISBN 0 7153 6454 5. Includes listing of the Parks with black and white photographic plates.
ee also
The Royal Parks External links
* [http://www.royalparks.gov.uk Royal Parks] web site
* [http://www.pbase.com/giliyaari/london_parks London Parks Photo Gallery] by Gili Yaari
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.