Inventory Site Record

These are private communal gardens provided for the residents of Markham Square, which was built from 1836 on the site of an old orchard on the former farmland of Box Farm. It was named after Pulham Markham Evans, the last owner of the farm, and the Markham family reputedly had common rights since 'the 29th year of Elizabeth'. The garden was laid out as a cherry orchard in 1935 in celebration of the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and after WWII it was re-landscaped in the style of a country garden by the head gardener of the Royal Hospital. The garden now has shrub and flower beds with a central bed, lawn, an ornate seat, and a variety of trees including gingko.

Site location:

Markham Square/King's Road

Postcode:

SW3 4UY

What 3 Words:

online.takes.improving

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 2024.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

playground

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Sloane Square (District, Circle). Bus: 11, 19, 22, 211, 319.

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.

One of the characteristic handsome elongated squares that open up off King's Road and provide vistas of domestic calm from that busy street. Markham Street (laid out c.1830) and Markham Square were built on the former farmland of Box Farm and were named for Pulham Markham Evans, the last owner of the farm; the Markham family reputedly had common rights since 'the 29th year of Elizabeth'. In 1858/9 a Congregational Church, designed by John Tarring, was built in the square. Bomb damage in WWII damaged some properties in the square. To the east and west of the square the original three-storey terraces remain, with stuccoed ground floors, balconies and railings, but to the north the Congregational Church has been replaced by 1950s development. The central enclosure was owned by the freeholders of houses of Markham Square who annually elected a Square Gardens Committee to maintain it, as well as to enforce byelaws that were allowed in 1923 by Mr Justice Eve under the Authority of the Town Gardens Protection Act of 1863. In 1928 it was described as a 'rectangular enclosure with thick shrubbery around the border. Laid out as an ornamental garden with lawns, trees etc.' The garden was laid out as a cherry orchard in 1935 in celebration of the Silver Jubilee of King George V, and after WWII it was re-landscaped in the style of a country garden by the head gardener of the Royal Hospital. The garden today is surrounded by modern railings with hedging along King's Road frontage. Within the garden are shrub and flower beds with a central bed, lawn, an ornate seat, and a variety of trees including a gingko.

Sources consulted:

Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England London 3: North West' (Penguin, 1999 ed); Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares, 1928; RBKC Chelsea Conservation Area Proposals Statement

Grid ref:

TQ275783 (527526,178352)

Size in hectares:

0.1771

Site ownership:

private

Site management:

Date(s):

1836

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: Nos.136-138 (even) King's Road

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:

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:

Chelsea

Tree Preservation Order:

Yes - area TPO

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Rail Safeguarding Area. Strategic View corridor

Markham Square - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 15/08/17 14:25

Click a photo to enlarge.

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