Pall Mall takes its name from pelle-melle, a croquet-like game that James I brought from Scotland and France to entertain his courtiers. By 1630, the game had become so fashionable that London's first public court opened nearby, with aristocrats using it to display their loyalty to the crown. When the playing field was paved over in 1661 to create direct access from Haymarket to St James's Palace, the street kept the game's name.

This broad avenue quickly transformed into clubland's epicentre. The Reform Club arose from the 1832 Great Reform Act, while at number 27, Daimler's London depot saw remarkable encounters: manager Undecimus Stratton once fixed a broken-down car roadside, only to discover he'd rescued the company chairman, who promptly hired him to serve Edward VII and advise George V on motorcar purchases.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace these connections through St James's, revealing how the street witnessed everything from James Bond's fictional sword fights at the Reform Club to the founding of Britain's first motor show, while Nell Gwyn's blue plaque reminds walkers of the Restoration actresses who once graced these pavements.