The SW1Y line: St James's escorts for quiet evenings in clubland

The district in brief

Jermyn Street is the spine: shirtmakers, the perfumer Floris, the cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield, and Wiltons, which has served fish and oysters in one form or another since 1742. St James's Street runs downhill from Piccadilly to the palace gatehouse, lined with the club buildings that earned the area its nickname of clubland. St James's Square, with the London Library in its corner, is close to silent after seven. Duke of York Street leads to the Red Lion, a Victorian pub of mirrors and mahogany.

St James's Palace, still a working royal palace, closes the bottom of St James's Street with its Tudor gatehouse, lit at night. Pall Mall runs east from it to Waterloo Place, where the Duke of York Column looks down the steps towards The Mall. Few streets in London are this grand and this empty after nine.

The clubs are members' territory. A companion attends one only as a member's guest and only where the club's own rules allow, and most evenings here happen in the hotel bars instead.

Hotels in St James's

The converted townhouse at the closed end of St James's Place is the district's signature: its American Bar has a ceiling hung with ties, caps and memorabilia left behind by guests, above wine cellars dug in the seventeenth century. A handsome former bank on the corner of Pall Mall and Waterloo Place holds a second. The arcaded hotel on the northern edge of the district faces Piccadilly with its back to Green Park. At the eastern end, a fourth sits beside Trafalgar Square with a rooftop bar above it.

Named here as places our companions walk into, never as associates. No hotel in St James's has any arrangement with the house.

Stations, with minutes on foot

From St James's Place, Green Park station, for the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, lies about 3 minutes away on foot. Piccadilly Circus, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, is around 5 minutes from the eastern end of Jermyn Street. St James's Park, on the Circle and District lines, is roughly 6 minutes from the southern side of the district. All three are Zone 1, so travel is included.

Timing and confirmation

At any hour, a companion normally reaches a St James's hotel about an hour after the booking is confirmed in writing, and longer when Pall Mall and Regent Street are at a standstill. Send date, time, duration and hotel by WhatsApp or Telegram; before she leaves we confirm your full name and room number, then write her expected time into the chat.

An ordinary evening is held from the moment the reply confirms her; overnights and club events are best written a day ahead. The fee is handed to her in person on arrival. If a club dinner runs over, a 15 minute grace period applies before the booking needs moving.

Who books in SW1Y

Members of the clubs and their visitors, staying a few nights in St James's Place. Business travellers from the offices on Pall Mall and St James's Square, which work late and empty fast. Guests who like a district where nothing is loud, the bars are small and the doormen have seen everything and mention none of it. St James's suits the guest who wants an evening to feel like a well kept private arrangement, which is precisely what it is.

A St James's evening, entered in order

18:30, a table under the ceiling of ties in St James's Place. 19:45, dinner at Wiltons on Jermyn Street, Dover sole and a quiet banquette. 21:30, the short walk to St James's Square, silent at that hour, then round the corner to the Red Lion for one last glass among the mirrors. 22:30, back to the room. Four hours; the dinner date at £900 covers it exactly.

Companions nearest the district

No companion files St James's as her home district, but several are a short ride away. Karolina, from Covent Garden, is private by temperament and fond of piano and opera, which suits an evening among the clubs. Patricia and Lea are both based in Belgravia, just past the palace: Patricia for the unhurried dinner, Lea for a theatre evening that starts at the Haymarket. From Mayfair, Samanta is three minutes across Piccadilly and entirely at ease in the American Bar.

Nearby areas

Green Park forms the western edge, Piccadilly the northern one, and Piccadilly Circus sits at the north eastern corner. Mayfair begins across Piccadilly.