Inventory Site Record

Trinity Church Square was laid out in 1824-32 on land belonging to the Corporation of Trinity House. Adjacent to the garden is the church of Holy Trinity, built in 1823-24, and since 1975 converted into the Henry Wood Hall for music rehearsal. The garden is private and laid out with lawn, shrubs, ornamental planting and mature plane trees. Within it is the statue of a king on a stone pedestal, late C14th in style, which was erected here by 1836 and may have once been in Westminster Hall. The garden has undergone re-planting in 2000 and in 2002 Trinity Street was closed to through-traffic.

Site location:

Trinity Church Square/Trinity Street

Postcode:

SE1 4HT

What 3 Words:

hers.comical.blunt

Type of site:

Garden Square

Borough:

Southwark

Open to public?

Occasionally

Opening times:

Has opened for OGSW. Otherwise private, for keyholders only
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 16 times, most recently in 2024.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Borough (Northern), Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo); London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee). Bus: 21, 35, 40, 133, 343, C10

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/06/2011

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

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

Trinity Church Square was laid out between 1824-32 on land owned by the Corporation of Trinity House. The church of Holy Trinity was built in 1823-24 and designed by Francis Bedford, with masonry work by William Chadwick who built houses in Trinity Square and worked on St Peter Walworth (q.v.). Chadwick (d.1852) was buried at Nunhead Cemetery (q.v.) but a memorial was erected to him in Holy Trinity Church. In 1956 the parish was united with that of St Andrew New Kent Road, and in 1974 joined that of St Matthew. In 1975 the church was converted for use as a concert hall, the Henry Wood Hall. The building is fronted by a wide gravelled driveway that divides the church from the central garden behind fine railings. The garden is private and has only been open to residents of the surrounding houses since 1997. It is well laid out with lawn, shrubs, ornamental planting and mature plane trees.

Within the garden is the statue of a king on a stone pedestal, late C14th in style, which was erected here by 1836 and is possibly one of a pair showing Alfred the Great and Edward the Black Prince made for the Garden of Carlton House in the C18th. Flat to the back, it was probably designed for setting within a niche.

The garden has undergone re-planting in 2000 under the supervision of the Museum of Garden History, now renamed the Garden Museum (q.v.) In 2002 Trinity Street was closed to through-traffic.

Sources consulted:

Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South (Penguin) 1999; Ron Woollacott, 'Southwark's Burying Places, Past and Present', Magdala Terrace Nunhead Local History publication, 2001; Southwark Listed Buildings data

Grid ref:

TQ324795 (532407,179475)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

Corporation of Trinity House

Site management:

Corporation of Trinity House

Date(s):

1824-32

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: 4 terraces 1 - 68 Trinity Church Square with cast iron railings; statue of King on stone pedestal; Holy Trinity Church; K2 telephone kiosk on north-east corner of Hall

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:

Trinity Church Square

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone

Other LA designation:

London Squares Preservation Act; Strategic Views Backdrop Consultation Zone

Trinity Church Square - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 24/08/17 10:54

Click a photo to enlarge.

More photos