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

Lincoln's Inn Fields is London's largest garden square, but was once open fields and the site of duelling, jousting and occasional public execution. In the C17th building development began here, and part of the fields were built over, with part laid out with walks. In a bad state by early C18th, Lincoln's Inn Fields was formally laid out as a garden in 1735 and enclosed, ceasing to be publicly accessible. In 1894 the LCC took on responsibility through Act of Parliament and Lincoln's Inn Fields opened to the public, with provision for recreation such as tennis, golf and band concerts. The layout today is largely that of the early C19th with perimeter shrubbery and path, scattered trees, lawns, areas of bedding, and crossed by cruciform paths with an octagonal pavilion in the centre. There are a number of memorials and sculptures in and near the gardens.

Lincoln's Inn was founded in or before 1422 although the site was bequeathed to the legal fraternity by the Earl of Lincoln in 1311. One of the 4 Inns of Court, Lincoln's Inn grew up as a series of buildings for living and working among largely unenclosed spaces. Formal gardens were created in the C16th, particularly under supervision of James Dalton from 1588-1600, but altered over the years as new buildings were erected. The late C17th New Square was initially a private enterprise by Henry Serle, comprising 3 terraces around a central garden area, which once had a central pillar, clock and fountain; a new fountain designed by William Pye was installed here in 2004. Lincoln's Inn Gardens today consist of 6 separate gardens, the North Lawn, Benchers' Lawn, New Square, Gatehouse Court, Kitchen Garden and Stone Buildings.

Lismore Circus was formerly a circus of C19th terraces, later absorbed by extensive redevelopment of the area. In 1870 St Pancras Vestry took over the central area following a memorial that it should be laid out as a garden. It opened to the public in 1871, a circular garden surrounded by privet hedge with grass, shrubs and trees. Now within the modern mixed development, the garden remains a circular railed grass plot with large plane trees, with C20th landscaping to east and west.

Lissenden Gardens Estate is a small Edwardian development by Alfred Armstrong comprised of 3 red-brick Arts and Crafts style blocks of mansion flats, Parliament Hill Mansions, Clevedon Mansions and Lissenden Mansions. Built between 1898-1906, the estate was designed by Boehmer and Gibbs, whose initial plan of 1897 went through various changes but from the first incorporated a garden. This was laid out in 1899, later converted to tennis courts, with a Gardener's Cottage built on the north side. The plane trees on the estate roads and other landscaping provided a green foil to the buildings and a footpath gave access to Parliament Hill Fields. The Gardener's Cottage has been replaced in 2010 by a modern house designed by J J Lorraine for his family to live in.

Malet Street Garden was formerly rear gardens of Nos. 2-20 Gower Street, a terrace built c1780 for the Bedford Estate.The site was purchased by the University of London in 1951, the sunken gardens to the rear becoming a private garden for the university. It is possibly sunken because brickearth here was of good quality and dug out for local building. There are original wrought-iron railing stubs on the garden's boundary walls but all the original railings were removed during WWII to assist the war effort.

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

The Trustees of the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, purchased 56 acres in Lamb's Conduit Fields from Lord Salisbury and the Foundling Hospital, now Coram's Fields, was built by 1753. Samuel Pepys Cockerell was appointed to develop the estate surrounding the hospital, and his plan of 1790 had two squares. Mecklenburgh Square on the east was named after Queen Charlotte, formerly Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; it was designed by Joseph Kay with Cockerell as consultant, the houses built c1810-1820, the gardens laid out by Kay in 1809-10. The layout remains close to the original design with mature plane trees, ornamental trees, formal lawns and gravel paths.

Formerly the private garden of a villa of c.1840 fronting on Brecknock Road, Montpelier Gardens is an irregularly shaped area surrounding three sides of the house, with access from entrances. The garden retains traces of its original design including a stone terrace and low brick walls, mature trees and shrubs, a rockery and a small C19th built structure in one corner. Now redesigned as a children's play area with an asphalted enclosure containing play apparatus, the remaining areas of the garden are much simplified with trees, shrub beds and lawn.

Munster Square is a rectangular garden enclosed by modern railings. Modern low-rise council blocks replace the former C19th terraces that once surrounded the garden. The site was originally planned by John Nash as an additional market to serve Regent's Park in the 1820s, but never developed as such. The garden, divided by Osnaburgh Street, was leased by the Crown to the LCC who opened it to the public in June 1906, laid out with walks and seats.

Oakley Square is named after Oakley House, a seat of land-owner the Duke of Bedford. The garden was laid out c1845, planned in conjunction with terraces that survive only along its northern side. The well-planted garden had serpentine paths, two circular areas at either end of a central path running north-east to south-west, and was originally for the use of the Duke, his heirs and assigns, and those living in the square. It is now open to the public, and was relandscaped in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

It is not known why Parliament Hill is so-called. In 1884 George Shaw-Lefevre MP, a key player in preserving Hampstead Heath, began fund-raising to extend the Heath. Parliament Hill, then part of the Kenwood estate and used for grazing, was valuable for its development potential. It became public open space under the Hampstead Heath Enlargement Act of 1886 and in 1889 was acquired by the Metropolitan Board of Works. A tumulus excavated in 1894 popularly thought to be the tomb of Boadicea is more likely an early Bronze Age burial mound. Ponds had facilities for bathing, fishing, model yachting and skating and level ground was used for sports. Other facilities included a bandstand, refreshment house and The Lido in c.1938, one of 13 built by the LCC in the 1920s and 30s.

Pond Square today is a triangular tree-shaded open space with pathways running across it, three raised areas largely grassed, and in one corner a small toilet block within shrubbery. The highest point in Camden, this was the old centre of Highgate Village and once had two large ponds that provided drinking water to the village. The freehold was conveyed to St Pancras Vestry in 1884 and in 1886 the ponds were drained in order to create a public space, which opened in the same year. The garden is overlooked by terraced houses, several dating from C18th and C19th, and by the Highbury Literary and Scientific Institute and Emanuel Church.

Primrose Gardens was originally Stanley Gardens, named after a Dean of Westminster of that name, the Deans being landowners here. At one time it was used by Hampstead Cricket Club. The houses of Stanley Gardens, with the elongated oval central garden, were built in the 1880s. The garden was acquired by Hampstead Borough Council in 1920, the name changing to Primrose Gardens in 1939. The garden consists of two railed enclosures with grass and trees, and with a small central paved seating area between them.