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St James's Square, laid out
in the 1670s, was one of London's earliest squares.
It was lined by exclusive houses
for those people whose business made it essential to live
near St James's Palace.
For 50 years St James's Square
was the most fashionable address in London, with seven dukes
and seven earls in residence by the 1720s.
Many of the buildings seen now
date from the 18th and 19th centuries and have had many famous
residents.
During World War II both Generals
Eisenhower and de Gaulle had headquarters here.
No private houses now survive
on the square. No.10 on the north side is Chatham House,
dating from 1736, home of the Royal Institute for International
Affairs.
In the north-west corner is
the London Library, dating from 1896, a private lending library
founded by the historian Thomas Carlyle and others in 1841
in disgust at the inefficiency of the British Library.
The private gardens in the middle
of St James's Square are dominated by an imposing statue of
William III astride a horse, which was erected in 1808.
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