London Land's Favourite Communal Square Gardens
Take a look at some of London Land’s favourite communal square gardens in many desirable addresses located in the in the heart of London.
Belgravia
Eaton Square
Eaton Square is one of the most sought after postcodes in London and is home to many of the world’s elite. The square was built in 1826 to flank what was the main approach to Buckingham Palace. Nowadays the combination of well-manicured lawns, flowerbeds and the shade of London’s infamous Plane Trees can be enjoyed by any of the squares wealthy residents.
[Image: Country Life]
Kensington
Ladbroke Square Gardens
Ladbroke Square Gardens is the largest of the sixteen communal gardens that make up the Ladbroke Estate. It is Grade II listed by English Heritage with the north side contained by the town houses that run along Kensington Park Gardens. The paths that cross the garden divide it into three grand lawns with a tennis court in the south eastern corner.
[Image: Ladbroke Association]
Chelsea
Markham Square
Originally built as a cherry orchard, Markham Square now gives the impression of a quaint English countryside garden. A stones throw from the King’s Road, this garden is an oasis of colourful borders and blossom trees that provide a sanctuary for the residents to escape busy London life.
[Image: London Gardens Trust]
Knightsbridge
Montpelier Square Gardens
Montpelier Square contains a hidden 19th century garden in the heart of Knightsbridge. This square was named after Montpelier in France, which was intended to evoke images of a vogue way of life. This communal garden encapsulates this ideology.
[Image: Nicolas van Patrick]
South kensington
Onslow Square
This garden square was once the home of legendary English author Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, as well as William Makepeace Thackeray, writer of Vanity Fair. Actually comprising two formal gardens, one with a tennis court, the homes here were designed by Sir Charles James Freake, to be wider than previously built and have been well preserved through the centuries. The garden retains the original railings and has well tended lawns and magnificent trees.
[Image: Country Life]
South Kensington
Thurloe Square Gardens
Thurloe Square Gardens is one of London’s premier garden square’s and is located in South Kensington. It lies like a “densely embroidered green mat” at the front of Victoria and Albert Museum. Thurloe Square takes its name from John Thurloe, Oliver Cromwell’s Secretary of State, and Is a typical Victorian garden, with mature trees, winding paths, lawns, borders, flowerbeds and a children’s play area.
[Image: Gavin Gardiner]
Knightsbridge
Cadogan Place
Of all Central London’s garden squares, Cadogan Place is one of the most unique and certainly the largest, extending from the lower part of Sloane Street to the Carlton Tower Hotel on Cadogan Place.
A private garden square owned and managed by the Cadogan Estate, it boasts two tennis courts, a dedicated children’s area and a section for dogs (not all London squares are pet-friendly). It has always had a very international appeal, especially to buyers from Italy, Greece, France and Spain, and there’s a real mix of both houses and apartments. Some of the square’s properties have blue plaques commemorating notable former residents such as William Wilberforce and Harold MacMillan. It also makes a fictional appearance in the Henry James novel, The Golden Bowl.
[Image: Savills]
