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The area remained open land until it was developed as part of the Bedford Estate. Although the square was formed in 1800, the garden and houses were not built until the 1820s. Named after Lady Georgina Gordon, second wife of the 6th Duke of Bedford, the design and supervision of the garden was by the Duke himself; an early plan of c.1830 showed a perimeter path and a circular central path around a shrubbery, linked to the perimeter by six curving paths, with shrubberies around the edge and in groups in the enclosures made by paths. By 1894 the layout had changed and it was simplified in the early C20th. In 1920 the Duke agreed to sell the site to the Government for the building of University of London. The gardens initially remained private for use of residents and keyholders but were later open to the public. In 2007 the gardens were formally re-opened by HRH the Princess Royal following a 7-year restoration project.

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

The collegiate legal institution of Gray's Inn was established some 700 years ago although many of the buildings on the site now date from post-war rebuilding following 1941 bomb damage. In the mid-C16th Gray's Inn consisted of a single court with walled garden to the north, known as Green Court. Surrounded by barristers' chambers and offices, the gardens, also known as Gray's Inn Walks, were first laid out in 1606 under the direction of Francis Bacon, but were altered from the C18th onward. The main feature is a broad gravelled path between an avenue of mature plane trees, with ornamental trees and shrubs behind; at the end are Indian bean trees grown from slips brought back by Sir Walter Raleigh and planted by Bacon.

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

The collegiate legal institution of Gray's Inn was established some 700 years ago although many of the buildings on the site now date from post-war rebuilding following 1941 bomb damage. Gray's Inn Walks were first laid out formally in the C16th, later altered in the C18th. The gardens of Gray's Inn Square and South Square to the east of Field Court are both essentially C20th. Gray's Inn Square, 1930-31, has a central rectangular lawn with flower beds, scattered trees and an C18th sundial in the centre, moved here from the north end of Gray's Inn Walks in 1966. South Square, adjacent to Gray's Inn Hall, has an oval lawn with a statue of Francis Bacon by Frederick W Pomeroy, 1912, and a large mixed bed of shrubs and bedding known as the Treasurer's Bed.

Grove Terrace Squares are three strips of public gardens located between Highgate Road and the slip-roads serving the Georgian houses of Grove Terrace and Grove End. The land was acquired by the LCC for £754 in order to preserve it as public open space and it was maintained by St Pancras Vestry, later Borough Council. The 'squares' were previously enclosed but the railings were removed in WWII when civil defence chambers were built underground, a staircase to which is still visible. They have wide swathes of lawn into which are set a series of shaped flower beds with seasonal displays, shaded by mature trees including oak and London plane.

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

Hampstead Cemetery was founded by Hampstead Burial Board, which was established in 1873 when the graveyard at St John-at-Hampstead became full. A 20-acre plot of land was purchased and the cemetery was laid out and planted by Joseph Meston, who had previously worked on Victoria Embankment Gardens. The cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of London and opened in November 1876; further land was added in 1901. Over 60,000 people have been buried here, representative of the many well-known and artistic people attracted to the area over the years, and there are many fine monuments. The oldest graves are close to the main paths.

Hampstead Green is the remains of what was once a much larger area of manorial waste. On the John Rocque map 1746 it is shown as an open space with an avenue of trees surrounded by a few buildings; in the 1830s it was described as 'a grassy playground for children with a fine double row of trees'. The railed triangular site is now managed for wildlife, planted with a wild flower meadow. Part of the green was taken when St Stephen's Church was built in 1869-75, and the site then came into the ownership of the church who also had responsibility for its maintenance. In 1928 it was referred to as Pond Street Enclosure, a 'small grass plot planted with shrubs and trees' that was protected under the London Squares Act of 1931. A Cabman's Shelter was erected adjacent in 1935.

Hampstead Heath falls within 2 London boroughs, the largest proportion being in LB Camden. It has immense historical content; a Saxon charter referred to the 'great ditch' in the Domesday Survey, and a Royal Charter of 1227 to woods and heath enclosed on all sides by ditches which along with boundary oaks and stones that are still visible today. The Heath has a great variety of habitats including ancient woodland, meadows, wetland, hedgerows, parkland and 26 ponds some of which were built to serve London with its water supply. In 1871 the Metropolitan Board of Works purchased the manorial rights for the public in perpetuity through an Act of Parliament; subsequently further land was added. The City of London has managed all of Hampstead Heath, apart from the Kenwood area, since 1989.

Hampstead Square Gardens is a small triangular site within which a private garden has been created. A number of the surrounding houses date from the early C18th, and maps of 1762 show a rectangular grove here called The Square. The open space was used in the early C19th by strolling players and then by the Victoria Tea Gardens. In 1850 Christ Church was built here to serve the growing population of Hampstead, which had became too large for St John-at-Hampstead and the parish was sub-divided.

Harrington Square was originally laid out as a planned development of the Duke of Bedford's estate. It consisted of two terraces overlooking a triangular garden enclosure, provided for the residents of the surrounding houses. Today only part of the east side of the C19th terrace remains, the north of which was destroyed by WWII bombing. The south terrace was demolished for new housing in the 1960s. The gardens, now public, are enclosed by railings and privet hedge, laid out with grass, flowerbeds, mature trees and some perimeter shrubbery.

Along Hampstead High Street and Heath Street are a number of landscaped areas with grass, shrubs and some trees, such as the central enclosure between The Mount and Heath Street, which have been maintained as public open space by Hampstead Borough Council since at least the late C19th/early C20th. They are now maintained by LB Camden. These green spaces are of interest in providing green banks to the busy high street.

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

Highgate Cemetery was opened by the London Cemetery Company in 1839, one of the 7 cemeteries created when it was necessary to alleviate crowded metropolitan burial grounds. The land had once belonged to the Ashurst Estate. The cemetery was laid out with serpentine roads and paths, and formally planted with specimen trees, shrubs and flowerbeds. With its park-like setting it was soon popular as a place to visit as well as a burial place. As a result the Company purchased land for an extension and the East Cemetery was opened in 1856; it is here that Karl Marx is buried. The two parts are divided by Swain's Lane with a passage beneath the road for conveyance of coffins from the chapel. The cemetery deteriorated after WWII and was closed in 1975. The Friends of Highgate Cemetery, formed that year, raised money to purchase the land in 1981 and continue to look after the cemetery. The cemetery is owned by a Cemetery Trust

Highgate Enclosures consists of three landscaped areas on the south-west side of Highgate Road that formed part of the old village green of Kentish Town, a once extensive area of commonland that was gradually enclosed. This district was marked as 'Green Street' in John Rocque's map of 1746. By the C19th they existed as green enclosures separating the villas of The Grove from Highgate Road, by 1906 overlooked by the Edwardian Lissenden Gardens Estate. In 1940 an air raid shelter was built in the most northerly enclosure for use by tenants of the estate. The railed gardens have grass, shrubs and some flower beds, with paths and seating.