Victoria Square (Westminster)
Brief Description
Victoria Square is a modest town square of stuccoed terraces completed in 1839, part of the C19th development of the Grosvenor Estate land in Belgravia. The centre was originally an unpaved open space, later paved, and raised in the 1950s. It was landscaped in 2003-5 and has a formal, symmetrical layout, with paving, raised beds and seating, and at each end a Catalpa tree. The square is surrounded by traditional railings and lamp posts. A bronze statue of the young Queen Victoria by artist Catherine Laugel was installed in 2007, depicted at the age she would have been when the square was first laid out.
Practical Information
- Site location:
- Victoria Square, Belgravia
- Postcode:
- SW1W 0QY
- What 3 Words:
- snack.stamp.comet
- Type of site:
- Garden Square;, Public Gardens
- Borough:
- Westminster
- Open to public?
- Yes
- Opening times:
- Public access 10am - dusk weekdays but restricted to residents/keyholders at evenings and weekends. Has opened for OGSW
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 4 times, most recently in 2012. - Special conditions:
- Facilities:
- Events:
- Has opened for OGSW
- Public transport:
- Rail: Victoria. Tube: Victoria (District, Circle, Victoria). Bus: 2, 8, 11, 16, 24, 36, 38, 44, 52, 73, 82, 148, 170, 185, 211, 436, 507, C1, C10
- Research updated:
- 01/03/2011
- Last minor changes:
- 14/07/2022
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.grosvenor.com
Full Site Description
Victoria Square is a modest town square of stuccoed terraces built in 1837-39 designed by Matthew Wyatt. Part of the C19th development of the Grosvenor Estate land in Belgravia, Victoria Square remains residential while much of the surrounding area has changed to mixed use over time. The centre of the square was originally an unpaved open space, which was later paved, and in the 1950s a raised area was created to discourage parking. Until recently it remained as a raised paved platform, from which sprouted two small trees, one of these Catalpas still remaining and now mature. The other was replaced in c.2000 by a new Catalpa.
In 2003 residents of surrounding houses raised money and gained planning permission to create a central garden in keeping with the squares designed by Thomas Cubitt found in the area. Completed in 2005/6 and designed by John Rich and Associates, the small garden has a formal, symmetrical layout, with paving, four raised beds with planting, seating, and at each end the Catalpa tree in a raised bed. The enclosure is surrounded by replica iron railings and lamp posts, the railings having a spear finial to match the railings in front of the surrounding houses of the square. A bronze statue of the young Queen Victoria by French artist Catherine Laugel was erected in 2007, depicted at the age she would have been when the square was first laid out in 1839, when she had just ascended to the throne. An inscription reads:' Victoria Regina, Regnum victoriosum, Incipiens'. There is also a bronze plaque to poet Thomas Campbell who lived at No. 8 Victoria Square. Another famous resident was author Ian Fleming who was living at No. 16 Victoria Square when he began writing his James Bond novels. The Leicester-born musician John Ella (b.1802), lived at 9 Victoria Square, where he died in 1888.
The garden is managed by a garden committee, with residents of Victoria Square paying an annual charge to Victoria Square Gardens Ltd. Current planting in the garden's four flowerbeds includes Magnolia sp, Nandina ‘Firepower’, Sisyrinchium sp and roses, with seasonal bedding plants, which in March 2011were cyclamen, primroses, daffodils and pansies. Cistus sp occupy the 4 corners of the central area and beneath the Catalpa are shade tolerant Sarcococca sp. Beech hedges are planted along the outside edges of the beds and along the side in the 2 larger southern beds.
Sources consulted:
B Chancellor, 'The History of London Squares' (1907) p 334-35; WCC, Grosvenor Gardens Conservation Area Audit, 2006
LPGT Volunteer Research by Mary Luisa Hartley, 2011: John Rich and Associates, Planning Application to WCC (2003); Ann Saunders, 'The Art and Architecture of London: an illustrated Guide' (Phaidon, Oxford, 1984), p177; J M Robinson, 'The Wyatts: an Architectural Dynasty’ (Oxford University Press, 1979), p199.
Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
- Grid ref:
- TQ288792 (528860,179276)
- Size in hectares:
- 0.299
- Site ownership:
- Grosvenor Estate
- Site management:
- Grosvenor Estate Gardens Department / Garden Committee
- Date(s):
- 1837-39; 2005
- Designer(s):
- Matthew Wyatt (1830s); John Rich and Associates (2003)
- Listed structures:
- LBII*: 1-25 Victoria Square
- 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:
No
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:
- No
- Other LA designation:
- Strategic View Corridor, Local View
Photos
Victoria Square - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 18/05/09 14:11Click a photo to enlarge.
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.