St James’s Palace was built by Henry VIII. It also included a large park. This was the main residence of the Kings and Queens of England. Queen Elizabeth held her court there. Charles I spent the night there before his execution there. It continued to be the royal palace during the Georgian period. The palace gave its name to the area and it became the most fashionable place for courtiers to live in order to be close to the palace. Shortly after the Restoration, Charles II allowed Henry Jermyn, the Earl of St Albans, to develop the fields north of the palace. More houses for aristocratic owners were constructed. When Queen Victoria’s court moved to Buckingham Palace, courtiers tended to move to the new Belgravia, and St James’s was no longer so popular. Tradesmen moved into the area in the middle of the 19th century. It also became the home of a number of gentlemen’s clubs.

There are flats in St James’s Place with views over Green Park. Arlington Street contains flats along the edge of the Park, including Arlington House, a mansion block built in the 1930s. There are further mansion blocks in Bury Street, Duke of York Street, Duke Street and Ryder St. Buildings in Jermyn Street have been converted to flats. There are flats scattered around Pall Mall and St James’s Square.