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Inventory Site Record

Hampstead Square Gardens (Camden)

Brief Description

Hampstead Square Gardens is a small triangular site within which a private garden has been created. A number of the surrounding houses date from the early C18th, and maps of 1762 show a rectangular grove here called The Square. The open space was used in the early C19th by strolling players and then by the Victoria Tea Gardens. In 1850 Christ Church was built here to serve the growing population of Hampstead, which had became too large for St John-at-Hampstead and the parish was sub-divided.

Practical Information
Site location:
Hampstead Square/Cannon Place, Hampstead
Postcode:
NW3
What 3 Words:
potato.worked.builds
Type of site:
Private Garden
Borough:
Camden
Open to public?
No
Opening times:
locked/private, but visible
Special conditions:
Facilities:
Events:
Public transport:
Tube: Hampstead (Northern). London Overground: Hampstead Heath. Bus: 210, 268, 46, C11, 24, 168.
Research updated:
01/08/2002
Last minor changes:
19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news.

Full Site Description

The garden has hedging around the boundary and a number of trees. Planting includes flowers and shrubs, with a seat and paved area. Christ Church was built in 1850 by Samuel Dawkes on the site of the old workhouse garden and was consecrated on 30 March 1852. The West Gallery was designed by Sir Geroge Gilbert Scott in 1860, later removed in the 1960s. Former Prime Minister Clement Attlee was married here in 1922. The surrounding houses date from the C18th and C19th. Next to the garden, on the eastern wall of what was formerly a terrace of four houses on Hampstead Square, is a plaque commemorating Newman Hall, a Congregational minister and hymn-writer, whose widow adapted two houses of the terrace into homes for the aged.

Sources consulted:

Christopher Wade, 'The Streets of Hampstead' (Camden History Society, 2000)

Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
Grid ref:
TQ264860 (526483,186112)
Size in hectares:
0.0125
Site ownership:
private
Site management:
Date(s):
Designer(s):
Listed structures:
LBII: Christ Church; Hampstead Square - No. 1 with attached railings; No. 2 with attached railings; No 4; No. 6 Vine House; Terrace comprising Nos 7, 7a, 8, 9; No. 12 Lawn House.
On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No
Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No
Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:
No
In Conservation Area:
Yes
Conservation Area name:
Hampstead Village
Tree Preservation Order:
To be checked
Nature Conservation Area:
No
Green Belt:
No
Metropolitan Open Land:
No
Special Policy Area:
Yes - Area of Special Character: Hampstead & Highgate Ridge
Other LA designation:
Private Open Space
John P. Emslie, 'Hampstead Square', watercolour, 1881.  Courtesy of Camden Local Studies and Archives Centre.
1881

Click a photo to enlarge.

Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.