Description
This area suffered bomb damage during WWII and as a result the former townscape of Fitzrovia changed in post-war rebuilding. Crabtree Fields was laid out in 1985 by the GLC replacing a former car park on an empty bomb-site. The public gardens recall the old name of the area in the early C18th when it was a meadow known as Crab Tree Field. It was owned by the wife of carpenter John Goodge after whom Goodge Street is named.
Practical Information
| Site location | Whitfield Street/Colville Place |
|---|---|
| Postcode | W1 |
| What3Words | ///roofs.waving.vital |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am- dusk |
| Facilities | Children's playground |
| Public Transport | Tube: Goodge Street (Northern). Bus: 10, 24, 29, 73, 134. |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Colville Place adjacent is a terrace of houses built c.1766 by John Colville. No 1 was built in 1964 by Max and Jolanta Neufeld as a house with gallery below.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ295816 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.1249 |
| Site Ownership | LB Camden |
| Site Management | Parks & Open Spaces; Friends of the Parks of Fitzrovia |
| Dates | 1985 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Nos. 11, 11a, 12, 13 Colville Place (north side), 14, 15, 16 Colville Place (south side) |
| 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 | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Charlotte Street |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character: Central London Area |
| Other LA Designation | Public Open Space (Small Local). Strategic View Corridor |
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
This small public garden was once the site of a large pond called The Little Sea. In 1756-58 it became the site for Whitfield's Tabernacle and Almshouses, and Whitfield's half-acre Burial Ground, which was in two parts, one each side of the Tabernacle. In 1853 it was closed to burials and cleared in 1856. The LCC acquired the site in 1894 and in 1895 opened it as a public garden, laid out as a smaller area with a central path and a larger tar-paved area surrounded by planted borders. In the early C21st it was substantially re-landscaped by Camden Council.
Ridgmount Gardens is an elongated private garden for the use of residents of the imposing Ridgmount Mansions apartment building that overlooks it, built in the 1890s. Stretching from Chenies Street to Tavistock Place, the garden has a path that leads alongside a series of miniature lawns interspersed by shrubbery borders. At either end of the garden are ornamental bird baths set off by lavender and wisteria.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Bedford Square was built between 1775-86 on the Bedford Estate to provide fashionable town houses. The estate remained sealed by gates until 1893. The square is no longer residential and the central garden, laid out between 1775-80, is now mainly surrounded by offices. Described as 'the best and most complete Georgian square left in Bloomsbury', its large oval garden remains for the private use of keyholders. It is surrounded by late C18th cast-iron railings and has shrubberies, lawn and mature plane trees, and a C19th hexagonal pavilion, which has been restored, and new benches and metal edging have been installed on the resurfaced perimeter path.
Bedford Square was built between 1775-86 on the Bedford Estate to provide fashionable town houses. The estate remained sealed by gates until 1893. The square is no longer residential and the central garden, laid out between 1775-80, is now mainly surrounded by offices. Described as 'the best and most complete Georgian square left in Bloomsbury', its large oval garden remains for the private use of keyholders. It is surrounded by late C18th cast-iron railings and has shrubberies, lawn and mature plane trees, and a C19th hexagonal pavilion, which has been restored, and new benches and metal edging have been installed on the resurfaced perimeter path.
