Pickering Place, St James's

The entrance to Pickering Place.

London has roughly 600 public squares, spread throughout the city. The largest of these is Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, at 300,000 square feet. This is the largest public square both in London and the United Kingdom.

The smallest public square is Pickering Place, St James's, at roughly 500 square feet. It is also the smallest square in Great Britain. For its small size it is full of history.

The square was originally known as Stroud's Court. In 1698, the Widow Bourne, whose first name has been lost to time, opened a grocer's shop at No. 3 St James's Street, with her two daughters. This was the same year that St James's Palace became the official residence of the monarch. This grocer's shop would go on to become 'Berry Brothers & Rudd', which is still run by descendants of the same family, to this day.

The Widow's daughter, Elizabeth, married William Pickering and the two carried on the mother's business. They also supplied coffee to the fashionable Coffee Houses of St James's. 'Berry Brothers & Rudd' still trades under the sign of the coffee mill, as they have done for centuries. 

Georgian architecture.

In 1731, William Pickering set about rebuilding Stroud's Court, which was originally a garden, with new, taller houses. after which the square was renamed Pickering Court. Their business, at No. 3, remains as it was from when it first opened.

As Pickering Court was 'off the beaten path' it became known for its bear baiting, gambling dens and prostitution. The square was also used as a duelling ground. It is said that the Prince Regent's close friend, Beau Brummell, fought a duel here, in the nineteenth century. Some claim that London's last duel took place here, but this is incorrect. London's last duel took place in a small field near Camden Road in Camden Town.

In 1812, the square was renamed Pickering Place.

Between 1842-45, the Republic of Texas used the offices, above 'Berry Brothers & Rudd', for their Legation. When Texas joined the Union, in 1845, the Texan delegation departed the capital leaving an outstanding rent bill of £160.

Spot the spelling mistake.

In 1963, the Anglo-Texan Society member, Alfred Bossom, led the effort to have a plaque erected. The honour of unveiling the plaque went to the then-Governor of Texas, Price Daniel.

In 1986, 26 members of the Anglo-Texan society visited the wine shop to settle the outstanding rent bill, still owed by the Republic of Texas. During their visit a plaque was affixed to the wall, of 'Berry Brothers & Rudd', just inside the entrance to Pickering Place. If you look closely you will notice the misspelling of St James's.

Prime Minister Lord Palmerston and the author Graham Greene were two notable residents of Pickering Place.

Pickering Place with its original working gas lights.

Today, with its Georgian architecture, wrought iron railings and working gas lights, Pickering Place, is a quiet place to escape the crowds of Piccadilly and St James's.