Horse Guards Parade

The parade ground is of interest to garden historians as a direct descendant of an ancient open space type: the parage ground. This was one of the uses of courtyards in Nineveh, Babylon and other Mesopotamian cities. The building (designed by William Kent) is west of the site of Henry VIII's tournament ground ( 'tiltyard') in Whitehall Palace and dates from 1742. It was built to accommodate the palace guard. Today, the guards are changed at the top of Horse Guards Parade every hour. For many years the parade ground was used as a civil service car park. Colvin and Moggridge, the landscape architects for its restoration, also opened up the view to the lake in St James's Park.