Parks and open spaces in the City of Westminster Parks and open spaces in the City of Westminster The City of Westminster, a central London borough, has 116 parks and open spaces; these include small gardens as well as larger areas of land. The open spaces are managed by Westminster City Council and private resident and business associations. Westminster is also home to four of the Royal Parks (Hyde Park,Green Park, St. James's Park and Kensington Gardens). The Royal Parks are managed by Royal Parks. Westminster has a selection of typical London squares and formal gardens. Among the sites are: The only Local Nature Reserve in the borough is
Speakers' Corner a traditional site for public speeches and debate, as well as a major site of protest and assembly in Britain. There are some who contend that the tradition has a connection with the Tyburn gallows, where the condemned man was allowed to speak before being hanged. Speakers' Corner is often held up to demonstrate freedom of speech, as anyone can turn up unannounced and talk on almost any subject, although always at the risk of being heckled by regulars. The corner was frequented by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, George Orwell, C. L. R. James, Walter Rodney, Ben Tillett, Marcus Garvey,