A Hyde of Land

The land included in St. James' Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and the Kensington Gardens, London, was originally a large manor called the "Hyde."

According to ancient law "a hyde" included as much ground as could be cultivated by one plough. At the dissolution of religious Orders in England, under Henry VIII., the Hyde, or cultivable land of the Abbots of Westminster, came into the possession of the Crown. It was then enclosed and well stocked with game as a Royal hunting-ground. The present divisions of this ancient Hyde are due to William III.; but the lakes and fine drives are largely due to Caroline, Queen of George II. This chain of parks, called the "lungs of London," covers an area of eight hundred acres; and here, during the Season, may be seen to the best advantage the wealth and fashion, and the splendid equipages, of the nobility of England.

The sheet of water called the Serpentine covers fifty acres. In the early morning, under certain restrictions, as many as twelve thousand people bathe in it. In the afternoon it is covered with sail and row boats; in the winter it is a grand skating field. Thus in all seasons, and at all hours, this Hyde of the Westminster monks, the great recreation park, is a blessing to overcrowded London.