Description
The area was part of the large Holland Estate; development of the estate was begun by the third Lord Holland as a means of easing financial problems from the 1820s. It was the fourth Lord Holland who let land for development of Addison Road, Crescent, Addison Gardens, Upper Addison Gardens, Holland Road and Holland Villas Road. The communal garden between Lower and Upper Addison Gardens is shown on maps by 1863 on land to the east of St John the Baptist Church. The boundary wall on Holland Villas Road is of London stock brick, with the original cast iron entrance gate, but the gate piers have been covered in concrete. There is a gravel peripheral walk and a central walk and the site is shaded by many mature beech and plane trees. Protected by Garden Squares Act of 1851.
Practical Information
| Site location | Holland Villas Road/Addison Gardens |
|---|---|
| Postcode | W14 |
| What3Words | ///neat.calms.tonic |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Holland Park (Central) |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2013 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The garden was bequeathed as 'Pleasure Gardens' for the 'use and enjoyment' of premises built around it, including both Upper and Lower Addison Gardens, Holland Road, and Holland Villas Road, but only the sections directly abutting the garden square itself qualified. As a result this does not include properties on Upper or Lower Addison Gardens on the other side of the street. The garden is bound by strict Rules & Byelaws, as well as the Kenstington Improvement Act of 1851. No commercial use or access is permitted, so the garden is very private and only those expressly contributing to the Levy upkeep (collected via Council Tax) may use, access and 'enjoy' Addison Gardens, .
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ241798 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.6774 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Site Management | Addison Gardens Committee |
| Dates | C19th |
| 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 | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Holland Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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.
Nearby parks and gardens
The private communal garden was provided for residents of Royal Crescent, which was built as part of the development of the Norland Estate. The estate, which originally comprised 52 acres of grounds attached to Norland House, passed through various owners until William Kingdom purchased it for house development in the late 1830s. In 1997 the perimeter railings were replaced and in 2003 work began to re-design the gardens. The new landscaping scheme retains its overall feel, adding a central gazebo, renewing planting and paths. Many of the trees date from the C19th, with two large London planes that may predate the original layout.
Woodsford Square is a communal garden built as part of the Wates development by Fry Drew and Partners, which consists of 4-storey terraces with communal green behind. This area was once part of the Holland House estate, which in the late C18th consisted of c.200 acres, but the original estate had once been nearly 500 acres, extending almost to Fulham Road. The development for housing began from the 1820s onwards under the third Lord Holland, and continued through the C19th. The 1950s and 60s saw building on a scale reminiscent of the 1870s, with Wates building many houses north of Oakwood Court on Abbotsbury Road.
This private walled garden was originally created by the poet Jean Ingelow and later developed by Beth McWilliam as a setting for the sculpture of F.E.McWilliam who worked here until his death in 1992. The studio was originally a garden music room probably dating from the same time as the main house (1852). The garden was simply laid out with a large bordered lawn and a central stone path connecting the house and artist's studio. A proposal made to English Heritage to preserve the house, garden and studio as a place where McWilliam's sculpture could be studied in the setting of its making did not come to fruition. The contents of his studio were later gifted to Banbridge District Council in Northern Ireland, the town of his birth, where a purpose-built gallery was opened in his memory in 2008. No 8a was sold to a private buyer and a garden house has been built on the studio site.