HobNob Tours
Exclusive Private Walking Tours

The combined walking tour of St James' and Mayfair gives us the opportunity to find out how one developed around the Royals and the other, the Aristocracy. 

 

Starting with St James', it's not called London's Royal Village for nothing!  There are many connections to Royalty starting with the two palaces which have both played starring roles in significant Royal events over the centuries.  St James' has existed as a home to the royals since that most notorious of kings Henry VIII decided to build a palace for the son who turned out to be a daughter in the 1530s; it has been the focus of some extraordinary royal scenes ever since.  This is where Elizabeth I waited for the Spanish Armada to arrive in 1588 and where, just over 360 years later, the Garter King of Arms announced King George VI's daughter was now Queen Elizabeth II.  On 10 September 2022, he announced her death and that her successor would be her son, King Charles III.

 

Buckingham Palace, on the other hand, is a much newer building and it's hard to imagine now that it started life as a small, country mansion which came into Royal hands when George III decided his new wife needed a new home!  That was in the 1760s.  It has been the royal residence occupied by the monarch since the days of Queen Victoria.  This is your chance to see the famous balcony where royal celebrations are shared with the world. 

 

As well as two Royal palaces, there are two Royal parks; we wander along the side of Green Park, hearing the legend of why it is called green!  Later, we meander through St James' Park, arguably, the most beautiful of the Royal parks in and around London.  It comes complete with an abundance of wild life on the ornamental lake.

 

But it is not just palaces and parks which put the royal into St James'; some of the exclusive shops have supplied the royals with hats, shoes, wine and spirits from the early days; and then, there are the gentlemen.  St James' was central to the development of Gentlemen's Clubs and of the 50 or so that still remain, many are based in and around St James'.  

 

Having exhausted Royal options, we turn our attention to Mayfair, home to the Aristocracy.  Since the Baron Berkeley built his London mansion on the southern side of Mayfair in the 1660s, other aristocrats followed his lead meaning that Mayfair became the playground of the aristocracy for well over 150 years.  

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But Mayfair is also about the well-heeled business men who, towards the end of the 1800s, challenged the aristocrats for their magnificent Mayfair mansions and huge chunks of Mayfair is now owned by some of the richest people (and states!) in the world!

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As we wander the streets of Mayfair we enjoy the stunning arcades built in the 1800s providing a rain free shopping experience for the wealthy, pavements lined with top end retailers and beautiful parks, so quiet, it's impossible to think we are only 5 minutes walk away from Oxford Street, one of the most famous shopping streets in London.

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But Mayfair is not all about the glitz and glamour of the wealthy.  Shepherd Market was the centre of Mayfair's red light district for centuries and this was where the aristocrats of old, with too much money and time on their hands, spent their days.  Dallying with a prostitute was far preferable to having a mistress who, once pregnant, would need caring for; prostitutes didn't need that sort of attention.  

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This is a fantastically varied and fascinating tour which takes us back in time to when the upper echelons in Society ruled the roost!

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This tour takes a minimum of four hours and starts under the Colonnade of the Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly.  As this is quite a popular spot nowadays for tours to start, I will meet you more or less halfway along the Colonnade underneath a sign on the wall saying 'Ritz Club'.