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Inventory Site Record

Upper Grosvenor Garden (Westminster)

Brief Description

Upper and Lower Grosvenor Gardens are two small triangular gardens laid out to complement Thomas Cundy's French Renaissance style houses, the design for which was exhibited at the RA in 1864. The Upper Garden is simpler but retains 3 pairs of mid-C19th gate piers and rich wrought gates with the Grosvenor monogram. Upper Grosvenor Garden was re-landscaped and opened to the public for the first time in 2000. It has a central lawn, perimeter path and a few mature planes, with a bronze sculpture of a lioness hunting an antelope in the centre of a bed within the lawn. The Rifle Brigade Monument (1924/5) by John Tweed is on the north-eastern corner.

Practical Information
Site location:
Grosvenor Gardens, Belgravia
Postcode:
SW1
What 3 Words:
quick.bill.sharp
Type of site:
Public Gardens
Borough:
Westminster
Open to public?
Yes
Opening times:
8am - dusk
Special conditions:
No dogs, ball games, alcohol
Facilities:
Events:
Public transport:
Rail: Victoria. Tube: Victoria (Victoria, District, Circle)
Research updated:
01/09/2009
Last minor changes:
01/08/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.grosvenor.com; www.grosvenor-gardens.co.uk

Full Site Description

The Grosvenor family were major landowners in this area of London. Lower Grosvenor Gardens (q.v.) and Upper Grosvenor Gardens are two small ornamental gardens laid out to complement Thomas Cundy's French Renaissance style houses, the design for which was exhibited at the RA in 1864. According to The Builder (1873) the ensemble formed a 'very remarkable neighbourhood'. Grosvenor Gardens and Grosvenor Place were laid out as the northwest extension of Victoria Street to Hyde Park. Both gardens are surrounded by a variety of listed buildings including C19th houses, a screen wall and the gateway to Beeston Place, and also a range of purpose-built flats ('maison meublée') designed by Thomas Cundy III in 1870. In the Lower (southern) Garden only the remains of the elaborate railings survive from the 1864 layout, the remainder of the square enclosed with utilitarian wire fencing. This Lower Garden was remodelled in 1952 by M. Moreux, Chief Architect to the Musees Nationaux de France as a memorial to Anglo-French understanding and a tribute to the Free French.

The Upper (northern) Garden is simpler but retains three pairs of mid C19th gate piers and rich wrought gates with the Grosvenor monogram; the rest enclosed with wire netting. The Upper Grosvenor Garden and railings were restored in 1999/2000 when it was re-landscaped and opened to the public for the first time in 2000. It has a central lawn, a path around the perimeter and a few mature planes. A bronze sculpture by Jonathan Kenworthy of a lioness hunting an Lesser Kudu antelope is in the centre of a bed set into the lawn and was commissioned by the Duke of Westminster. The Rifle Brigade Monument (1924/5) by John Tweed is on the north-eastern corner. A good late-C19th cabmen's shelter is to the west.

Sources consulted:

Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England London 6: Westminster', (Yale University Press, 2003), p.751/3; Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993), pp.340 & 817; Edward Jones & Christopher Woodward, A Guide to the Architecture of London, London 1983, p.173; Hobhouse, p165; WCC, Grosvenor Gardens Conservation Area Audit, 2006

Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
Grid ref:
TQ287792 (528711,179278)
Size in hectares:
0.177
Site ownership:
Grosvenor Estate
Site management:
Grosvenor Estate Gardens Dept
Date(s):
c1864, 2000
Designer(s):
Thomas Cundy III
Listed structures:
LBII: numerous surrounding C19th buildings, screen wall, gateway to Beeston Place, C19th gate piers, Rifle Brigade Monument
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:
Grosvenor Gardens
Tree Preservation Order:
No
Nature Conservation Area:
No
Green Belt:
No
Metropolitan Open Land:
No
Special Policy Area:
Yes - Central Activities Zone
Other LA designation:
London Square
Photos

Upper Grosvenor Garden

Upper Grosvenor Garden - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 01/08/23 14:57

Gate to north boundary - Photo: Pamela Paterson (1995)
1995
View from south corner - Photo: Pamela Paterson (1995)
1995
Internal view from the south - Photo: Pamela Paterson (1995)
1995

Click a photo to enlarge.

More photos

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