Description
This private communal garden was provided for residents of Elm Park Gardens, which were laid out in 1875 by George Godwin. The site was formerly part of the grounds of Chelsea Park and a single mulberry tree survived in the centre of the garden until 1906. The garden consists of a number of strips of planting between old and new buildings, with lawn, mature trees and paved areas.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Site of Chelsea Park |
|---|---|
| Site location | Elm Park Gardens |
| Postcode | SW10 |
| What3Words | ///asking.dawn.photo |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly) |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
By early C17th, grand houses, among them early properties of Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More (Beaufort House), began to be established around the old village of Chelsea. In subsequent decades more building took place both along the river as well as further inland particularly up Church Lane, now Old Church Street, which developed northwards to the Queen's Elm. This is where Queen Elizabeth I is supposed to have sheltered from the rain with Lord Burghley; the 'Queen's Tree' was recorded as early as 1586 and an arbour was built around it. In the early C16th an area between Duke's Walk and Lovers' Walk called 'Sand Hill' was part of Sir Thomas More's estate. In 1664 it was known as Lord Wharton's Park after its then owner; after Wharton sold his property in 1714 it became known as Chelsea Park. By c.1718 it had been purchased for a mulberry garden with the purpose of manufacturing raw silk but the venture failed, and Chelsea Park was gradually built over for housing.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ266780 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.0591 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1875 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| 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
Queen's Elm Square was built in 1904-6 for the Sloane Stanley Estate on a site behind the Queen's Elm public house. The houses overlook communal gardens with an access road at the front, behind which the two-and-a-half storey neo-Tudor half-timbered buildings have remained virtually unchanged since they were built.
These two areas of private communal gardens were provided for residents of the houses of Evelyn Gardens that overlook them, which built between 1886-96 as part of the Smith's Charity Estate. The Trustees of the Estate began building on the estate from 1823, appointing George Basevi as architect in 1828, who was succeeded by Henry Clutton and later Charles James Freake. Two associated gardens are separately listed as Thistle Grove Gardens and Cranley Mews.
The site at Queen's Elm was purchased for the Western Synagogue cemetery in 1815 and it opened as the first Jewish burial ground west of the City, then known as Brompton Cemetery. The Western Synagogue dates from 1761 and is the oldest surviving Ashkenazi Synagogue. The cemetery closed in 1885, although burials in reserved graves continued until at least 1910. It became dilapidated after closure, but in 1897 Mr Ellis Franklin paid for its restoration, which was completed in 1898 and its maintenance was later provided for by the Adel Hopkins (nee Rootstein) Estate. The cemetery remains hidden behind high brick wall, but a number of taller monuments and its mature trees are visible.