Description
The gardens, which lie between the two red brick mansion blocks that comprise Ashley Gardens, provide a welcome relief from the towering striped buildings of the area. The long rectangular strip, well planted with trees, shrubs and ivies, is visible from Thirleby Road through the railings and is kept in excellent condition. Ashley Gardens and Morpeth Terrace are some of the earliest purpose-built blocks of flats in London.
Practical Information
| Site location | Ashley Gardens, Westminster |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW1 |
| What3Words | ///broad.truck.area |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, residents only |
| Public Transport | Tube: St James's Park (District, Circle) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ294791 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1890 |
| 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 | Westminster |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Westminster Cathedral |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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 site of Westminster Cathedral was marshland known as Bulinga Fen in medieval times, reclaimed by Benedictine monks and used as a market, with the annual St Mary's Fair held on 22 July. Later a pleasure garden, in 1826 the Middlesex County Prison was built here. In 1884 it was purchased as the site for the new RC cathedral, with money raised following the death of the first Catholic Archbishop of Westminster in 1850, but the Cathedral was not completed until 1903. The piazza in which the Cathedral is sited is hard-landscaped and has a cross erected for Cardinal Basil Hume, who was Archbishop of Westminster from 1975 until his death.
Originally part of Tothill Fields, in mediaeval times the area was apparently used for military practice and there were plague pits here. Terraced houses existed in nearby Rochester Row by the 1790s. Vincent Square is named after Dr William Vincent (d.1815), former Dean of Westminster and Master of Westminster School. The centre of the square became a playground for Westminster School in 1810, enclosed by railings in 1842. Westminster School originated as a small charity school provided by Westminster Abbey's Benedictine monks in c.1179. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the school's continuation was ensured by a statute of Henry VIII of 1540 and it was granted a charter by Elizabeth I in 1560. Set to turf, there are large London plane trees around the perimeter and a lodge in the south corner of c.1920, with stone gate piers, and also a large half-timbered sports pavilion.
Christchurch Gardens is the site of the former burial ground for St Margaret Westminster dating from 1625. Broadway Chapel was built here in 1638-42, replaced in the C19th by Christ Church Westminster. Among those buried in the churchyard were several notorious people. Christ Church was destroyed in the Blitz in 1941 and the site was left as open space until it was converted into a public garden in 1950. There were no monuments remaining but the garden was laid out with grass, a number of mature trees, and some formal landscaping. In 1970 the Suffragette Monument was erected in the gardens and in 1995 a bronze statue commemorating Henry Purcell. In 2020 the gardens were re-landscaped following an improvement scheme undertaken by Victoria BID with WCC. The new scheme provides additional planting together with new seating, lighting, paving and historical information as well as features to improve biodiversity.
