Description
In 1670 St Paul's Deanery was built in Dean's Court, a fine mansion attributed to Christopher Wren, located behind substantial walls and piers decorated with carved pineapples, behind which is a garden forecourt with two substantial mature trees.
Practical Information
| Site location | Dean's Court |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC4 |
| What3Words | ///valve.laptop.joined |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: St Paul's (Central) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2014 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ319810 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | St Paul's |
| Dates | 1670 |
| Listed Structures | LBI: St Paul's Deanery; Screen walls and gateways to forecourt of St Paul’s Deanery |
| 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 | City of London |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | St Paul's Cathedral |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - St Paul's Heights Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Strategic Viewing Corridor |
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
Wardrobe Place is so-called after the King's Great Wardrobe, which housed the Crown's storage of clothing and arms. It was moved from the Tower of London to Lombard Street in 1311 and then in the 1360s to a house here that Edward III purchased from Sir John Beauchamp. The Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the buildings in Wardrobe Place today date from the C18th and C19th. It is reached through an archway from Carter Lane, a paved courtyard laid out with a few trees and seats.
Carter Lane Garden was laid out post WWII on an area that had originally been intended for a traffic scheme south of St Paul's Cathedral. It follows the ground-plan of the pre-war buildings over whose bombed foundations it was formed. In 1955 a circular Information Pavilion built for the Festival of Britain in 1951 in nearby Festival Gardens, was re-erected in the north-west corner. This remained until 2007 when a new information kiosk designed by make architects was erected, at the same time as re-landscaping of the garden. It is divided into two areas either side of the wide paved path that forms the pedestrian route from St Paul's to the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern.
The churchyard gardens are part of the precincts of St Paul's Cathedral and an important part of its setting. The first cathedral was erected in 604 and the present cathedral by Christopher Wren is the 5th on the site. His third design was accepted in 1675 and building took 35 years, completion marked by the statue of Queen Anne erected in 1712. By 1870 the cathedral precinct consisted of 5 sites comprised of former churchyards and the cathedral forecourt. The churchyards were closed for burial and negotiations to create recreational open space began in 1874, with agreement reached with the Dean and Chapter in 1878. The gardens were opened by the Lord Mayor on 22 September 1879. Trees in the area south of the nave include London plane, gingko, maple, lime, ash, mulberry and eucalyptus. In the north are some of the oldest plane trees in the City and a giant fir tree; at the south gate is a rose garden.
