Description
Drury Lane Gardens is a small public garden created in 1877 on the site of a former burial ground of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the first burial ground to be made into a public garden in Westminster following closure as a result of the Burial Acts, in this case due to the intervention of Octavia Hill. The mortuary and lodge survive either side of the entrance, together with C19th gate piers. The raised garden is largely taken up with a playground, sports court and hard landscaping but also has a seating area shaded by a pergola, with shrubberies and bedding displays. A number of tombstones are ranged along the northern boundary.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | St Martin in the Fields Burial Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | Drury Lane, Covent Garden |
| Postcode | WC2B 5TB |
| What3Words | ///newly.slang.above |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Special Conditions | No dogs, adults admitted to playground if accompanying a child |
| Facilities | Children's playground, children's/disabled toilet, multi-use games area. |
| Public Transport | Tube: Covent Garden (Piccadilly), Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly), Temple (District & Circle). Bus: 1, 59, 68, 171, 188, 243 |
| Research Updated | 6 March 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Mrs Basil Holmes reported that before it closed for burial, this former burial ground of St Martin-in-the-Fields (q.v.) 'was so disgustingly overcrowded that no burials could take place there without the disturbance of other bodies, which were crowded into pits dug in the ground, and covered with boards'. It was the first burial ground to be made into a public garden in Westminster following closure as a result of the Burial Acts of 1852 and subsequent years, in this case due to the intervention of social reformer and philanthropist Octavia Hill, and was undertaken by St Martin-in-the-Fields Vestry. By that time four other public gardens had been formed from burial grounds, St Botolph's Bishopsgate, St George in the East and its adjoining Wesleyan graveyard, St John's Waterloo and St Pancras Old Churchyard with the adjoining St Giles in the Fields burial ground (q.q.v.). The red brick Gothic mortuary and lodge together with the linking gate piers of 1880 survive and are listed; they may have been designed by Elijah Hoole whose patroness was Hill, and who was responsible for designing the cottages and hall adjacent to Red Cross Garden (q.v.), for which Hill was also responsible.
Drury Lane Gardens contains a number of tombstones ranged along the northern boundary wall; steps from the entrance gates lead to a seating area shaded by a pergola, with shrubbery and bedding displays. The garden is largely occupied by a children's playground and a sports court, and also has a drinking fountain in the garden.
Drury Lane Gardens contains a number of tombstones ranged along the northern boundary wall; steps from the entrance gates lead to a seating area shaded by a pergola, with shrubbery and bedding displays. The garden is largely occupied by a children's playground and a sports court, and also has a drinking fountain in the garden.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ304811 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.12 |
| Site Ownership | WCC |
| Site Management | Parks Service (contractor: Continental Landscapes Ltd) |
| Dates | 1877 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Mortuary, lodge, gate piers |
| 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 | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
St Giles Almshouses were founded in 1665, and built on this site in 1790. They were rebuilt in 1885 by Edward Henry Burnell in Jacobean style of yellow stock brick with red brick bands, strings and stone dressings, fishscale tile roofs with gables. The almshouses are in two ranges forming two sides of a quadrangle with a secluded courtyard garden containing a single tree. The attached boundary walls have stone coping surmounted by cast-iron railings. At the south end of the quadrangle is a York Stone tablet, dated 1790, recording former almshouses on the site as well as a tablet dated 1885 recording the rebuilding of the almshouses.
Savoy Churchyard contains the former Chapel Royal that was built in 1510-16 as part of the Hospital of St John and restored after a fire in 1864/5. The Hospital was built near the site of the Savoy Palace built by Peter, future Count of Savoy on land granted by Henry III in 1245. The palace, later owned by John of Gaunt, was sacked during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, remaining derelict until 1505 when it was demolished. The churchyard is now laid out as a garden with an oval lawn surrounded by a stone plinth, shrubs and some fine trees, with gravestones on the perimeter.
The enclosed burial ground to St Paul's Church Covent Garden was consecrated in 1638, but the building accounts say little of the churchyard, beyond its planting with 'hay seed'. In 1853 the ground was closed to burials, and in 1855 the tombstones were removed or laid flat. Between 1878-82 the churchyard was altered under the direction of Thomas Cubitt, the ground west of the church re-levelled and remodelled. It is also known as Inigo Jones Garden after the architect of the church, which itself is nicknamed The Actors' Church due to its setting in the heart of theatreland.
