St James's Park Research Articles

The Diverse Topography of Restoration Comedy

Abstract The choice of setting is an important element in dramatic works, one that is often aligned with the definition of character or genre. Restoration comedy has traditionally been associated with London settings, particularly with the fashionable new areas of court and town, frequented by the higher classes: St James's Park, the Mulberry Garden, the Mall, or Covent Garden. Such an assumption, however, rests largely on a view of the comic production of Restoration England which used to foreground the work of a small group of canonical playwrights like Etherege, Wycherley, and Congreve. To revise this notion, the kind of quantitative analysis facilitated by the cataloguing work of the Restoration Comedy Project can prove very useful. This article discusses the difficulties faced in the process of determining the scene of the plays and builds on the data already collected for the period 1660–1682 to trace the topography of Restoration comedy. A review of this information yields a more diverse landscape than is usually taken for granted. Only half of the plays are set in London and barely half of those lay scenes in the genteel areas of the town. Moreover, an examination of the Covent Garden comedies shows that, after the Great Fire, this district is not represented as the exclusive preserve of the gentry, but as the home of a substantial number of citizen characters too.

Climate driven trends in London's urban heat island intensity reconstructed over 70 years using a generalized additive model

Long-term urban heat island (UHI) observations are uncommon and where available, are generally unable to distinguish changing climate drivers from urban expansion; neither driver is treated independently. We overcome this limitation using a generalized additive model to learn the variability in UHI intensity (UHII) at a central London weather station (St James's Park) over a 10-year observation period (2010–2019). We then use the model to reconstruct 70 years (1950–2019) of monthly night-time UHII variability using ERA5 reanalysis data both as a reference in UHII calculation and for the predictors. We find considerable variability both seasonally and annually within the UHII time series (monthly mean maximum UHIIs are 1.4–2.9 °C). Applying extreme value analysis to the time series we show that monthly mean maximum UHIIs are likely to exceed 2.75 °C once every 11 years. Considering that most studies observe or model UHIIs for less than a year, they will likely misrepresent this UHII variability. Nevertheless, despite moving to a warmer background climate, London's UHII has not significantly changed across the period of analysis (1950–2019). The data-driven methods we create in this study are easily transferable to other cities.

Bombing and the geography of Admiralty administration in two world wars

ABSTRACT The construction of so many temporary Admiralty offices in St James's Park during the First World War, despite the threat of enemy bombing, shows that British naval administrative efficiency then depended significantly on the close physical proximity of offices, albeit supplemented where necessary by additional liaison mechanisms. Subsequently, however, changing office practices, and advances in communications infrastructure and technology, made it possible for the administration to stretch itself very considerably. That was fortunate, since developments in warfare, including a great increase in the accuracy and weight of bombing attacks, demanded dispersion. By the Second World War, it can be argued there were four different Admiralties in the country, London, Bath, and Western Approaches and Rosyth Commands. They were not quite separate, however, but functionally linked with each other and with numerous other naval establishments, to the degree one could no longer identify Admiralty headquarters geographically; instead, it existed wherever there were officials and officers who carried out Admiralty functions.

Identification and implications of the London Clay Formation divisions from an engineering perspective

Historically, engineers frequently viewed the London Clay Formation (LC) as uniform, homogeneous and rather uninteresting. Chris King's seminal work provided a much deeper insight into the characteristics of the LC and how it can be split into divisions, based on the depositional history of the formation and the microfauna present. LC water content profiles were compiled from continuous cores as part of an investigation into variations in tunnelling-induced settlements across St James's Park, allowing distinct zones to be identified. These were found to coincide exactly with the divisions identified by Chris King almost twenty years earlier. Water content profiles can be developed as part of a ground investigation and used to help establish the boundaries between King's divisions. Based on two further water content profiles from Hyde Park and St John's Wood a new methodology for locating the boundaries of the divisions, involving a trend-line for sub-Division A3, is proposed and tested, relevant to conditions in central London. In developing the method, significant differences in the elevation of the divisions between the three sites is observed, suggesting geological processes such as folding or faulting have influenced the LC along the ∼5-km length of the section.Once the boundaries of the LC divisions are known, geotechnical engineers have a greatly improved overall understanding of the ground conditions and how the ground will respond to engineering works such as tunnelling and deep excavations. Broad engineering implications of the divisions are described and discussed, citing case histories where possible.

Predicting tunnelling-induced ground movements and interpreting field measurements using numerical analysis: Crossrail case study at Hyde Park

Ground response to the construction of the Crossrail tunnels in London Clay beneath Hyde Park has been modelled numerically using advanced finite-element analyses. The soil model used for modelling the London Clay was a kinematic hardening soil model (named M2-SKH). This model, when used for the St James's Park greenfield site, provided excellent predictions of tunnelling-induced ground movements. Comparison of the results from the analysis of the Hyde Park greenfield site with associated field monitoring data also suggests excellent predictions, even though in this case the tunnels were: of larger diameter; deeper in the London Clay; and constructed with earth-pressure-balance machines. The influence of lining permeability was found to influence significantly short- and longer-term predictions. Interpretation of the predicted surface and subsurface vertical and horizontal displacements due to the construction of the Crossrail tunnels exemplifies how numerical analysis can assist in explaining and identifying potential ambiguities in field measurements.

The use of kinematic hardening models for predicting tunnelling-induced ground movements in London Clay

The use of a kinematic hardening soil model for predicting short- and long-term ground movements due to tunnelling in London Clay is investigated. The model is calibrated against oedometer and triaxial tests on intact samples from different units of the London Clay. The calibrated model is then used in finite-element analysis to simulate the field response at St James's Park during excavation of the Jubilee Line Extension tunnels. The finite-element predictions compare well with the available field monitoring data. The importance of using consistent initial conditions for this complex boundary value problem in conjunction with the model parameters selected is highlighted. The stiffness response of different regions of the finite-element mesh indicates that the rate at which the stiffness degrades and the stiffness response further away from the tunnel boundary affect the short-term predictions significantly. The long-term predictions confirm that the compression characteristics of the soil control the magnitude of the consolidation settlements and its permeability the shape of the long-term settlement profiles.

Bayesian identification of soil strata in London clay

Identification of soil strata in the London Clay Formation (LCF) is of practical significance as it allows geotechnical property data within the same soil strata to be compared or used effectively. The soil strata in LCF are generally determined based on their lithological characters and fossil contents, with which geotechnical engineers are less familiar. To assist geotechnical engineers in identifying the soil strata in LCF, this paper aims to develop Bayesian approaches to identification of soil strata in LCF using water content data. Equations are derived for the proposed Bayesian approaches, and the approaches are illustrated using a water content profile at St James's Park, London. The proposed Bayesian approaches are shown to correctly identify the soil strata in LCF. In addition, a sensitivity study is performed to explore the effect of data quantity (i.e. both the measurement interval and number of measurements at the same depth) in a water content profile and provide guidance on the water content measurements during site investigation for optimising usage of the proposed Bayesian approaches.

Effect of anisotropy in ground movements caused by tunnelling

This paper presents closed-form analytical solutions for estimating far-field ground deformations caused by shallow tunnelling in a linear elastic soil mass with cross-anisotropic stiffness properties. The solutions describe two-dimensional ground deformations for uniform convergence (uε) and ovalisation (uδ) modes of a circular tunnel cavity, based on the complex formulation of planar elasticity and superposition of fundamental singularity solutions. The analyses are used to interpret measurements of ground deformations caused by open-face shield construction of a Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) tunnel in London Clay at a well-instrumented site in St James's Park. Anisotropic stiffness parameters are estimated from hollow-cylinder tests on intact block samples of London Clay (from the Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 project), and the selection of the two input parameters is based on a least-squares optimisation using measurements of ground deformations. The results show consistent agreement with the measured distributions of surface and subsurface, vertical and horizontal displacement components, and anisotropic stiffness properties appear to have little effect on the pattern of ground movements. The results provide an interesting counterpoint to prior studies using finite-element analyses that have reported difficulties in predicting the distribution of ground movements for the instrumented section of the JLE tunnel.

Analysis of tunnel excavation in London Clay incorporating soil structure

Recent studies on London Clay have identified a number of different units in the geological profile, and have highlighted the role of soil structure in mechanical behaviour. In fact, structure is the dominant factor determining the differences in the mechanical response of different units. In the paper, numerical analyses simulating the undrained excavation of a tunnel in St James's Park are presented. London Clay behaviour is characterised by a kinematic-hardening structured soil model incorporating structure and stiffness degradation. The parameters and initial conditions are based on a careful calibration that takes into account the presence of different units within the London Clay formation and the different degrees of soil structure. The analyses performed result in a very satisfactory reproduction of the magnitude and patterns of short-term surface and subsurface displacements, as well as pore pressures. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results in the context of other analyses performed previously, and puts forward some considerations concerning design issues.

Modelling of long-term ground response to tunnelling under St James's Park, London

Following a tunnel excavation in low-permeability soil, it is commonly observed that the ground surface continues to settle and ground loading on the tunnel lining changes, as the pore pressures in the ground approach a new equilibrium condition. The monitored ground response following the tunnelling under St James's Park, London, shows that the mechanism of subsurface deformation is composed of three different zones: swelling, consolidation and rigid body movement. The swelling took place in a confined zone above the tunnel crown, extending vertically to approximately 5 m above it. On the sides of the tunnel, the consolidation of the soil occurred in the zone primarily within the tunnel horizon, from the shoulder to just beneath the invert, and extending laterally to a large offset from the tunnel centreline. Above these swelling and consolidation zones the soil moved downward as a rigid body. In this study, soil–fluid coupled three-dimensional finite element analyses were performed to simulate the mechanism of long-term ground response monitored at St James's Park. An advanced critical state soil model, which can simulate the behaviour of London Clay in both drained and undrained conditions, was adopted for the analyses. The analysis results are discussed and compared with the field monitoring data. It is found that the observed mechanism of long-term subsurface ground and tunnel lining response at St James's Park can be simulated accurately only when stiffness anisotropy, the variation of permeability between different units within the London Clay and non-uniform drainage conditions for the tunnel lining are considered. This has important implications for future prediction of the long-term behaviour of tunnels in clays.

Volume loss experienced on open-face London Clay tunnels

This paper describes the nature of ground movement observed during construction of the Jubilee Line Extension at St James's Park and beneath Elizabeth House for different stages of tunnelling in London Clay, using open-face shield construction and sprayed concrete linings respectively. Volume loss is defined as the volume of ground loss as a proportion of the final tunnel volume and is measured in the plane of the tunnel. Volume losses corresponding to different phases of tunnelling at St James's Park and beneath Elizabeth House are identified in the paper. A companion paper presents a new approach to estimating volume losses for each phase of open-face tunnelling in London Clay.

Estimating volume loss for open-face tunnels in London Clay

A modification to the load factor approach to estimating undrained volume loss for open-face tunnelling in London Clay is proposed. The modified approach is based on the nature of ground movement observed during construction of the Jubilee Line Extension at St James's Park and Elizabeth House for different stages of open-face shield tunnel construction and tunnelling using sprayed concrete linings, described in a companion paper. The new approach is shown to provide good estimates of the volume loss observed for open-face shield tunnelling in London Clay at Green Park and Regents Park.

Unexpected tunnelling volume losses in the Westminster area, London

During construction of the running tunnels for the Jubilee Line Extension, London, large variations in tunnelling volume loss were measured over about a 2 km distance between Waterloo, south of the Thames, and the area north of St James's Park. At the design stage, a value of volume loss of 2% was adopted, which was thought to be conservative. In practice, volume losses of greater than 3% were measured in Westminster and in St James's Park, south of the lake. North of the St James's Park lake volume losses were less than 2%, as expected. Reliable estimates of volume loss are required for the planning and approval of future tunnelling projects in London, and so a detailed investigation was undertaken to establish the reasons for the observed differences. Two primary and interlinked causes for the large volume losses are identified. First, the method of tunnelling and construction control: south of the lake up to 1·9 m of unsupported tunnel heading was often advanced ahead of the shield, and as a result about 50% of the measured volume loss occurred in front of the shield. Second, the geological conditions: the crown of the westbound tunnel lies just below, and the invert of the eastbound tunnel just above, a division of the London Clay that contains numerous sand and silt partings. There was therefore a considerable potential for loosening and softening, particularly with excavation significantly ahead of the shield. Also, there is less clay cover and lower strengths to the south of the lake owing to past erosion (the study area straddles two of the Thames terraces). This case study highlights the importance of taking the engineering geology into account, even in a city such as London where there are decades of experience of tunnelling and the ground conditions are well characterised. The message is equally applicable to many other cities where large subsurface infrastructure projects are planned.

Sir John Franklin's last arctic expedition: a medical disaster.

Sir John Franklin's last arctic expedition: a medical disaster.

Proceedings of the 138th Meeting of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons held at St James Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, 25-27 April 2001

Proceedings of the 138th Meeting of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons held at St James Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, 25-27 April 2001

Andre Mollet, Royal Gardener in St James's Park, London

Andre Mollet, Royal Gardener in St James's Park, London

The influence of pre-failure soil stiffness on the numerical analysis of tunnel construction

The use of the finite-element method to analyse tunnels is becoming more widespread, but any prediction is dependent (among other things) on the model adopted for the pre-failure soil behaviour. This paper compares and contrasts plane strain predictions of ground movement for both single- and twin-tunnel excavations in stiff clay modelled as (a) isotropic linear elastic perfectly plastic (b) anisotropic linear elastic perfectly plastic (c) isotropic non-linear elastic perfectly plastic with shear stiffness dependent on deviatoric strain and mean effective stress, and bulk modulus dependent on volumetric strain and mean effective stress (d) anisotropic non-linear elastic perfectly plastic employing the model in (c) above (e) isotropic non-linear elastic perfectly plastic with shear and bulk stiffness dependent on deviatoric strain level, mean effective stress, and loading reversals. The analyses model the geometry of the twin Jubilee Line Extension Project tunnels beneath St James's Park (London, UK), and field data are presented for comparison (Standing et al., 1996). By considering the predicted surface settlement, the study shows the importance of modelling non-linear elasticity, and the effect of introducing a soft independent shear modulus. The differences in subsurface displacements for isotropic and anisotropic models are highlighted. The subsequent modelling of an adjacent tunnel excavation exposes more detailed features of all the models. It is concluded (a) that anisotropic parameters appropriate to London Clay do not enhance the plane strain predictions of ground movement as long as non-linear pre-failure deformation behaviour is being modelled; (b) that a soft anisotropic shear modulus significantly improves greenfield predictions but not twin-tunnel predictions; (c) and that accounting for load reversal effects does influence an analysis of this problem (St James's Park twin tunnels). L'analyse des tunnels a de plus en plus souvent recours à la méthode des éléments finis, mais toute prévision dépend (entre autres) de la modélisation du comportement des sols avant la rupture. L'article compare les mouvements de sol de tunnels simples et doubles creusés dans de l'argile rigide, sous l'effet de déformations planes, prédits dans les modèles suivants (a) isotrope, linéaire, élastique, parfaitement plastique (b) anisotrope, linéaire, élastique, parfaitement plastique (c) isotrope, non linéaire, élastique, parfaitement plastique, la rigidité au cisaillement variant en fonction des contraintes déviatrices et de la contrainte intergranulaire moyenne, et le module de compression variant en fonction de la contrainte hydrostatique et de la contrainte intergranulaire moyenne (d) anisotrope, non linéaire, élastique, parfaitement plastique, en utilisant le modèle cidessus (c) (e) isotrope, non linéaire, élastique, parfaitement plastique, la rigidité au cisaillement et la rigidité à la compression variant en fonction des contraintes déviatrices, de la contrainte intergranulaire moyenne et des contraintes subies récemment. Les analyses modélisent la géométrie des tunnels doubles du prolongement de la ligne de métro Jubilee Line sous St James's Park, et présentent des données relevées sur le terrain à titre de comparaison (Standing et al., 1996). En examinant le tassement de surface prédit, l'étude montre l'importance de la modélisation de l'élasticité non linéaire, et l'effet d'un module de cisaillement tendre indépendant. L'article fait ressortir les différences de déplacements souterrains des modèles isotropes et anisotropes. La modélisation subséquente de l'excavation d'un tunnel adjacent met en évidence des aspects plus détaillés de tous les modèles. L'article conclut (a) que les paramètres anisotropes propres à l'argile londonnienne n'améliorent pas les pré- visions des mouvements de sol sous l'effet de déformations planes dans la modélisation des déformations non linéaires avant la rupture; (b) qu'un module de cisaillement anisotrope tendre mène à de meilleures prévisions dans le cas de nouveaux chantiers, mais pas celui de tunnels doubles; et (c) que l'historique des contraintes récentes compte peu dans l'analyse de ce problème (tunnels doubles de St James's Park).

Poetic gardens and political myths: The renewal of St James's Park in the restoration

Abstract Few political events in English history can have excited as immense a literary and artistic response, and made as many demands upon the artist, as the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. In the first blush of enthusiasm that followed the king's landing at Dover on 25 May, the reading public was inundated with panegyrics on the returning monarch and celebratory works predicting a glorious revival of the nation's supposedly sagging fortunes. England, however, had undergone a sudden, radical and, as many have noted, surprising transformation. It was therefore not enough merely to praise: there was an even greater necessity to justify this transformation. Speaking of what he terms the ‘Panegyric Task’ of England's writers during the first decade of the reign of the newly restored king, Nicholas Jose comments that royalist writers ‘had to justify a political movement they supported and validate in imaginative celebration a world they longed to see “restored.” '1

J. F. Colls, M. A. Gathercole, and Utilitarianism Unmasked: A Neglected Episode in the Anglican Response to Bentham

At the beginning of 1844, the Revd John Flowerdew Colls, Anglican minister of Duke Street Chapel, St James's Park, London, published Utilitarianism unmasked, a vitriolic attack on Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), the philosopher, jurisprudent, and advocate of reform. ‘The writer's main object’, the advertisement which prefaces the work grandiloquently announces, ‘has been to expose, in all its naked deformity, the hollowness and deceitfulness of the so-much-vaunted principle falsely called the Greatest happiness principle’, which formed the basis of Bentham's philosophical system. But apart from a few desultory remarks on utilitarianism – such as a belaboured attempt to connect it with Robert Owen's socialism (p. 33) – Colls devoted his energies to undermining Bentham's ideas by pouring scorn and ridicule on Bentham himself.

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE MASS MORTALITY OF THE FRESHWATER FISH RUTILUS RUTILUS (L.).

From 24 May to 4 July 1961 about 12,000 roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.), died in a lake at Brynmill Park, Swansea, South Wales. Even this high figure may be an underestimate of the actual mortality rate as it is based entirely on extractions of dead fish from the surface waters by members of the Brynmill and District Angling Club, who used landing nets from the shore only, although at fairly regular intervals. The daily counts of dead roach are represented on a histogram (Text-fig. 1). It is also of interest that in the early summer of 1961 large numbers of roach succumbed in other regions of the British Isles; about 30,000 died in the River Trent, Derbyshire, and 3000 in the lake in St James's Park, London. Newspaper reports in both localities attributed the cause to a deficiency of oxygen. For the outbreak in South Wales, however, similar reports suggested that ‘white spot disease’ caused by the ciliated protozoan Ichthyophthirius was responsible for the mortality.