Inventory Site Record

Originally called Beaufort Gardens, Somerset Gardens is an oval area of grass with some trees, including a number of conifers, which acts as a communal green space surrounded by a close of mid C19th houses . In 1928 the site was owned by James Staite Murray and Samuel Murray who maintained it for use as a tennis court by tenants of the surrounding houses. At the end of the close is a fine detached house; the groups of houses either side are of differing styles, gable-fronted with iron verandas or classically restrained facades.

Previous / Other name:

Beaufort Gardens

Site location:

Somerset Gardens, off Loampit Vale

Postcode:

SE13

What 3 Words:

finger.lungs.dinner

Type of site:

Garden Square

Borough:

Lewisham

Open to public?

Partially

Opening times:

private (but roadway has access)

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

DLR: Lewisham. Rail: Lewisham, St John's.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/03/2003

Last minor changes:

29/08/2024

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

Laid out 1860-1862 as Beaufort Gardens by local architect Alfred Cross (1830-1882).  Maps show it was renamed Beaufort Gardens by 1949. 

According to the Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares (1928): 'The money received for the use of the enclosure for tennis goes a small way towards keeping the enclosure in order' but the owners 'think that the enclosure should bring in more money per annum as they had to buy it'. It was described as a rectangular site enclosed with posts and chain, laid out as tennis courts with a few trees around the border.

The current oval shaped lawn with trees and bushes is surrounded by several listed mid 19th Century houses. No.17 Somerset Gardens has a plaque marking the birthplace of Cecil Hepworth, pioneer British film maker

Sources: OS Map; Cecil Hepworth - SE13 : London Remembers, Aiming to capture all memorials in London

Sources consulted:

UDP Conservation Area notes; Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South (Penguin) 1999; Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares (1928); Builder 80 p543

Grid ref:

TQ375761 (537550,176150)

Size in hectares:

0.109

Site ownership:

private

Site management:

Date(s):

mid C19th

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:

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:

Somerset Gardens

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None