Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Court dress in 1794. The vast hoops continued to be required even as
the silhouette of ladies' dress changed completely and it was only when
George IV came to the throne that it was permissible to dispense with
them. Ostrich plumes in the hair were worn for court presentations
well into the twentieth century.
Pall Mall ends at St James's Palace, the official London residence of the monarch. Dur-
ing the Regency four of the royal dukes had apartments here, although the Prince Regent
much preferred the gaudy splendour he created at Carlton House.
Meanwhile the king was elsewhere. In 1810 John Wallis noted, '… since [George III's]
last illness, this palace is almost deserted; a levee only is holden here now and then when
the king comes from Windsor, for that purpose. Windsor is now the favourite residence.'
St James's was built for Henry VIII and its Tudor appearance is little changed since the
sixteenth century. This is where royal Drawing Rooms were held. Eliza de Feuillide, Jane's
cousin and, later, sister-in-law, attended one and must have been dressed in all the formality
of full court dress with vast hooped skirts - she complained about the weight - and plumes
in her hair.
Eighteenth-century parish boundary markers on the wall of St James's
Palace. To the left is St Martin-in-the-Fields, showing the saint on
horseback dividing his cloak to share with a beggar. On the right is the
marker for St James's, Westminster.
Turn up St James's Street on the right hand side. In Jane's day it was packed with gen-
tlemen's clubs and lodgings and smart shops to attract the modish residents. In
Sense and
Sensibility, Colonel Brandon stayed here when in London.
In 1815, the Reverend Joseph Nightingale described it thus:
The west side of this street is chiefly composed of stately houses belonging to the nobility and gentry,
one or two extensive hotels, bankers etc. The opposite side consists of elegant shops, which appear to a
stranger rather as lounging-places than resorts of trade and the busy pursuits of merchandise ... The fact
