Royal Parks of London
The Royal Parks of London are lands originally owned by the monarchy of England or the United Kingdom for the recreation of the royal family. With increasing urbanisation of London, some of these were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public parks. There are today eight parks formally described by this name and they cover around 5,500 acres (2,226 hectares) of land in Greater London.
- Bushy Park
- The Green Park
- Greenwich Park
- Hyde Park
- Kensington Gardens
- The Regent's Park
- Richmond Park
- St. James's Park
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.
They are managed by the Royal Parks Agency (an executive agency) and are policed by the Metropolitan Police (the previous force policing the parks, the Royal 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 Agency generates additional income from commercial activities such as catering and staging public events such as concerts.
External link
- Royal Parks web site