History & Heritage

51 Buckingham Gate, Taj Suites and Residences ( formerly known as St. James Court Hotel) encompassing the adjacent hotel, Crowne Plaza London-St. James.

In a country that values understatement, St. James Court is an English classic.

A quiet masterpiece that hides itself away in a London side-street between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Cathedral. To find it, you have to search it out, turning off busy Victoria Street into a muddle of lanes that have been shaped by a history of charity schools and almshouses reaching back across four centuries.

Go halfway down Buckingham Gate and there on the left is St. James Court. You could easily pass it – because the street is almost too narrow to let you stand back and enjoy the full panorama of its Victorian-Edwardian stone-trim-and-brick-façade. However, you might pause to peer through the tracery of a massive wrought-iron gate set in a dark archway, and you would do well to do so, for beyond is a mystery of delights: the hidden inner sanctum of St. James Court. You may just catch a glimpse of a fountain playing in a quadrangle of porches and pillars that glitter with a sea-green Faience glaze. Linking the eight mansion blocks that surround this court is an endless frieze of figures carved from the bricks that dance right round the quad, reputedly the longest frieze in existence anywhere in the world. Restored – like the rest of the building – to its original glory. It typifies the concealed charms of one of Britain’s finest hotels.

What makes St. James Court all the more special is that its builder was not a famous architect or hotelier, but an almost unknown English gentleman. Major Charles Pawley was a retired military man who had learned his skills in the Royal Engineers.

St. James Court was a Major Pawley’s masterwork, raised just at the turn of the century when Britain ruled the waves and a third of the world besides. In their impartial self-confidence, Englishmen like Charles Pawley believed they could do anything they set their minds to. Furthermore, they felt no need to trumpet their success. Reserve and understatement became the hallmarks of an English gentleman.

Charles Allen (born 1940) is a British writer and historian. He was born in India, where several generations of his family served under the British Raj. His work focuses on India and South Asia in general. In the book Kipling Sahib, Allen paints a more sympathetic picture of Rudyard Kipling than other authors have.

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces

Established in 1903, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is one of Asia’s largest and finest group of hotels, comprising 64 hotels in 45 locations across India with an additional 15 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. From world-renowned landmarks to modern business hotels, idyllic beach resorts to authentic Rajput palaces, each Taj hotel offers an unrivalled fusion of warm Indian hospitality, world-class service and modern luxury. The Taj, a symbol of Indian hospitality, has recently completed the centenary of its landmark hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is part of the Tata Group, India’s premier business house. www.tajhotels.com

Tata

The TATA group of companies has more than a century of experience in the UK, its leading international market with combined revenues of US$ 9 billion in 2007-08, comprising 19 companies and a 47,000-strong workforce. The group includes some well-known brands in the UK, among them:  Corus/Tata Steel, Tata Motors (including Jaguar Land Rover) Tata Consultancy Services TCS, Tetley Tea, The Quilon Restaurant & Bar and The Bombay Brasserie. In addition, Tata Communications (formerly VSNL), Brunner Mond/Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. www.tata.com