Inventory Site Record

Warwick Square takes its name from the Earls of Warwick who had a mansion in Warwick Lane from 1351. The square is overlooked from the north by buildings erected in 1966-72 to extend the Central Criminal Court, which had been built in 1902-07 on the former site of Newgate Gaol. Part of the earlier building was replaced and remnants in the form of four columns are within a small formally landscaped garden adjacent to Warwick Square. Landscaping in the square consists of two trees within an oval traffic island and a paved area in the south-west with shaped beds, a birdbath and a few seats.

Previous / Other name:

Warwick Court

Site location:

off Warwick Lane

Postcode:

EC4M 7BP

What 3 Words:

chop.zebra.spray

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

City of London

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: St Paul's (Central)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/06/2010

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/openspaces

Warwick Square takes its name from the Earls of Warwick whose mansion was in Warwick Lane from 1351. The site in the C17th and C18th was called Warwick Court, a courtyard surrounded on all sides by buildings, with an opening to the east leading to Warwick Lane. By 1875 it is shown as Warwick Square. The square today opens out from Warwick Lane and is overlooked from the north by austere buildings of 1966-72, erected to extend the Central Criminal Court that had been designed by E W Mountford and built in 1902-1907, on the former site of Newgate Gaol. When the Criminal Court was extended, it replaced part of Mountford's building, remnants of which are the four columns now sited in a garden area visible from the south west of Warwick Square. The left of the square was largely occupied by Hodders Publishers in November 1965. Landscaping in the square consists of two trees forming a traffic island with to the west, backed by railings, a paved area with bedding plants in shaped beds, a small birdbath and a few seats.

Sources consulted:

Simon Bradley & Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England, London 1: The City of London', 1997 (1999 ed.)

Grid ref:

TQ318812 (531840,181290)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

City of London Corporation

Site management:

Open Spaces Dept.

Date(s):

1966-72

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

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:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - St Paul's Heights Policy Area

Other LA designation:

Strategic Viewing Corridor

Warwick Square, Landscaping adjacent to Warwick Passage, June 2010. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.