Pall Mall was almost rural. There were haystacks near St. James's square; the north side of the road was completely open. One hundred and fifty elms trees were planted, making the street a shady walk where perwigged fops and fashionable ladies in "flame-coloured taffetas" would disport themselves.

Nell Gwyn had a small house towards the eastern end of Pall by the end of 1670; soon after she moved to a larger premises at number 79.

79 Pall Mall was a three storey, stone built house with a garden adjoining the king's. They used to talk with her standing on a terrace on top of the garden wall.

Pall-mall was also the name of a game played in the street; an ancestor of croquet, the object of the game was to drive a wooden ball through an iron ring.

Other 17th century sports:

The Present State of England, by Edward Chamberlayne, 1676:

"The citizens and peasants have hard-ball, football, skittles or nine-pins, shovel-board, stow-ball, goffe, trol-madam, cudgels, bear-baiting, bull-baiting, bow and arrow, throwing at cocks, bowlings, quoits, leaping, wrestling, pitching the bar, and ringing of bells, a recreation used in no other country in the world."

John Earle's Micro-cosmographie, 1628:

"A bowl-alley is the place where there are three things thrown away besides bowls, to wit, time, money, and curses, and the last ten for one... It is the school of wrangling, and worse than the schools, for men will cavil here for a hair's breadth, and make a stir where a straw would end the controversy.... The bettors are the factious noise of the alley... It is the best discovery of humours; especially in the losers, whre you have fine variety of impatience, whilst some fret, some rail, some swear, and others more ridiculously comfort themselves with philosophy."

Archery and Fencing were considered essential parts of a gentleman's education. Billiards was considered "a gentle, cleanly and most ingenious game" played with a short, bent cue, raised over the shoulder. Tennis was popularized by Charles who built new courts at Whitehall; there were also courts at the Gaming House in the Haymarket.