Inventory Site Record

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

Ladbroke Square Garden is part of the Ladbroke Estate, laid out as a planned garden suburb with a coherent layout of concentric crescents and large communal gardens whose features were first suggested in a plan by architect and estate surveyor Thomas Allason in 1823. His scheme was later modified by others, including James Thomson. Building started in the 1840s; the outer crescents date from the 1860s. During the lull in building development, the land was leased from 1837-4 for a racecourse, the Hippodrome. Ladbroke Square commenced in 1842 and is one of the largest private garden squares in London, the communal garden laid out in 1849. It has three lawns, shrubbery and mature trees.

Site location:

Ladbroke Square

Postcode:

W11 3BJ

What 3 Words:

desire.jars.strut

Type of site:

Garden Square

Borough:

Kensington & Chelsea

Open to public?

Occasionally

Opening times:

Has opened for OGSW. Otherwise private, for keyholders only
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 24 times, most recently in 2023.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

tennis court

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Notting Hill Gate (Central, Circle); Holland Park (Central) Bus: 12, 27, 28, 52, 94, 328, 452

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/10/2007

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

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

Ladbroke Estate: Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.

Ladbroke Square Garden is part of the Ladbroke Estate, laid out as a planned garden suburb with a coherent layout of concentric crescents and large communal gardens whose features were first suggested in a plan by architect and estate surveyor Thomas Allason in 1823. His scheme was later modified by others, including James Thomson, although he remained involved until his death in 1852. During the lull in building development, the land was leased for a time for a racecourse, the Hippodrome, built by John Whyte in 1837. The venture floundered, the course proving too heavy going, and it only operated from 1837-41. Building started in the 1840s; the outer concentric crescents date from the 1860s. After Allason's death, artist and designer Thomas Allom was responsible for the next phase of development.

Ladbroke Square is the largest garden on the estate, and is enclosed on the north by tall stucco mansions along Kensington Park Gardens, the eastern part designed by W J Drew in 1849-50 and the western part designed by Thomas Allom and built by David Ramsay in 1853-58. There is a break between the two terraces with an entrance and a pair of mid C19th cast iron gates with the coat of arms of Felix Ladbroke on shields in the centre of inscribed circles, opposite the gated entrance to South Stanley Garden (q.v.). The square is open on the other three sides, which are bounded by railings. The garden slopes from north to south and retains its original path layout including a broad walk running from west to east along the south side. In the garden are the remains of a circular fountain that was part of the original design for the garden, probably by Thomas Allason, which has been out of action since WWII. This is now a flowerbed surrounded by trees with ornamental cast iron urns on piers. Other features include a wooden summerhouse (one of a pair, the other demolished in the 1980s) and a gardener's cottage in the north east corner. The paths cross the garden to form three large lawns, backed by shrubberies, with a tennis court near the south-east corner. The mid C19th planting includes planes, limes, beech, evergreen and semi-evergreen oaks, hawthorns, and horse chestnuts, and has been supplemented by more recent planting of trees and flowering shrubs.

Sources consulted:

EH Register entry for Ladbroke Estate, 2002/3 EH Register: LCC Survey of London XXXVII, 1937; E Cecil 'London Parks and Gardens', 1907, p219; E B Chancellor 'The History of the Squares of London', 1907, p321; N Pevsner, 'London except . . . Westminster', 1952, p310-11.

Grid ref:

TQ248806 (524800,180594)

Size in hectares:

3

Site ownership:

private

Site management:

Head gardener: Colin Derome (2008)

Date(s):

1837; 1849

Designer(s):

Thomas Allason, architect and surveyor (overall plan of Ladbroke Estate)

Listed structures:

LBII: 10-22 Kensington Park Gardens, cast-iron gates with Felix Ladbroke coat of arms

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

Yes

NHLE grade:

Grade II

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

Yes

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:

Ladbroke

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough Importance

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Area of Archaeological Importance

Other LA designation:

None

Ladbroke Square - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 10/06/18 17:07

Click a photo to enlarge.

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