Inventory Site Record

Cleveland Gardens was laid out in c.1855 when the formerly rural area was being developed as part of the Paddington Estate. The garden was entirely refurbished in 2006, the work undertaken by the Residents' Association with the help of grants from EH and WCC. The scheme reinstated traditional Victorian railings to replace the old chain link fencing, paths were reformed and edged, and the garden was replanted. 3 notable London plane trees remain from the earlier garden. A condition of the grant aid was that the garden had to open to the public on 21 days a year.

Site location:

Cleveland Gardens, Bayswater

Postcode:

W2 6HA

What 3 Words:

discrepancy.lend.scan

Type of site:

Garden Square

Borough:

Westminster

Open to public?

Occasionally

Opening times:

Opens to the public 21 days p.a. and has opened for OGSW. Otherwise private, keyholders only
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 12 times, most recently in 2018.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Lancaster Gate (Central), Bayswater (District, Circle), Paddington (District, Circle, Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City). Bus: 7,23,27,36,46,159,205,332,436 + 70, 94, 148,274,390

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/05/2013

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

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

Land to the north of Hyde Park was for centuries farmland owned by the Church of England, the area known as Tyburnia after the river Tyburn that flows underground. It was at Tyburn Gallows at Marble Arch that public executions were held until 1783. The development of the Bishop of London's large Paddington Estate began after that, with an early masterplan drawn up by Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1754-1827), the estate surveyor, possibly begun in 1805 although little was built until the 1820s. Cockerell was succeeded as estate surveyor by George Gutch (c.1790-1874), who modified and intensified the layout, and drew up his 'Final Plan of Tyburnia' in 1838.

The Bayswater area was developed by a number of different speculators, although some of the earlier field boundaries, footpaths and tracks from the previous land use can still be traced. A roughly triangular area between Bayswater Road with Cleveland Gardens at the apex was developed by Henry de Bruno Austin. Cleveland Gardens is the small sister garden to Cleveland Square (q.v.), which is located 75m to the south. Cleveland Square or Court was the name given to the courtyard in front of Cleveland House.

In 1928 the garden of Cleveland Gardens, still owned by the Paddington Estate Trustees, was for the use of residents of adjoining houses and managed by a Committee of occupants. The expenses of maintenance were assessed proportionately on each house, although the Trustees had the power to undertake maintenance in cases of neglect. It was described in 1928 as 'an oblong enclosure attractively laid out as a lawn, with flower beds and a few trees. Overlooked by dwelling-houses'.

Sources consulted:

Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares, 1928; H Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, London 1978; Survey of London xxx, 495; Bridge Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner The Buildings of England London 3: North West, (Penguin, 1999 ed), p.690; E. Harwood, Survey of Cleveland Square, WM489, 1988 (unpublished); Alan Baxter & Associates, Conservation Area Audit No 6, Bayswater, adopted by WCC as SPG 13 July 2000; OGSW Cleveland Square sheet: LPGT Volunteer Research by Alyson Wilson, 2013

Grid ref:

TQ261811 (526169,181170)

Size in hectares:

c.0.08

Site ownership:

Cleveland Square and Gardens Residents' Association

Site management:

Cleveland Square and Gardens Residents' Association Garden Committee, contracted to The Plant Specialist

Date(s):

c1855

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: 1 - 8; 25 - 29 Cleveland Gardens

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:

Bayswater

Tree Preservation Order:

Yes

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Cleveland Gardens - Photo: Gavin Gardiner
Date taken: 13/06/09 16:22

Click a photo to enlarge.

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