Does this charming cottage look vaguely Swiss inspired? This is Park Cottage. It stands in St James’s Park. The cottage provides a striking contrast to the imposing government buildings nearby. These buildings are constructed with grey stone. They sit near Whitehall and Buckingham Palace.
Park Cottage has a rich history. King James I established St James’s Park in 1603. The park got its name from a leper hospital. It was dedicated to St James the Less. Exotic animals once lived here. Camels, crocodiles, and an elephant were some of them. Pelicans arrived in 1664. The Russian ambassador gifted them. They still live in the park today.
Originally, a long canal stretched across the park. A duck decoy was in the southeast corner. This decoy captured ducks for the royal table. The island in the decoy was named Duck Island. A Governor of Duck Island oversaw it.
King William III built the first cottage. It was a tea house in the late 17th century. By the 18th century, the stagnant ponds caused a stench. Duck Island was removed. Grass replaced it.
John Nash remodeled the park in the late 1820s. He was a Regency architect. Nash transformed the straight canal. He made it a curved lake. He reintroduced Duck Island. It had been missing for decades. Trees and shrubs were planted around Park Cottage. Birdlife returned.
The Ornithological Society of London formed in 1837. The aim was to protect birds. Plans for a cottage to house a bird keeper began three years later. John Burges Watson designed Park Cottage. It comprised two buildings. One was a dwelling for the bird keeper. The other was a clubroom for the Society. Construction finished in April 1841. A small covered bridge connected the two buildings. It offered views of the lake and garden. The design appears Swiss inspired. It would look at home in the countryside.
From 1900 to 1953, Thomas Hinton lived in Park Cottage. He was the bird keeper. During the Blitz in 1940, the cottage was damaged. After Hinton’s death in 1953, it was abandoned. People considered it unfit to live in.
Today, Park Cottage houses water treatment facilities. It has pumps for the lake and fountain. The Royal Parks maintains the garden. Duck Island is now a nature reserve. It is a sanctuary for the park’s birds. Herons, mute swans, and pelicans live here.
The London Parks & Gardens Trust uses Duck Island Cottage as its headquarters and office. Designed by John Burges Watson, the cottage was erected in 1840-41 and over the years has had a chequered existence.
Thomas Hinton was the son of a butcher in Tring, Hertfordshire. Lord Rothschild recommended my grandfather for the job of Bird Keeper in St James’s Park. Tom and Elizabeth [Derrick] were married hastily in 1900 and lived happily until her death in 1964. They had three children who all grew up on the island.
Hinton was, at one time, the only person allowed to carry a gun in London. He was responsible for looking after all the wildfowl in the Royal Parks in London. This included Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park and Buckingham Palace.
The cottage is picturesque. Its gingerbread style contrasts nearby architecture. It stands as a reminder of St James’s Park’s past. A rural retreat in the heart of London.