Description
Ennismore Gardens was built on the site of the former paddocks and gardens of Kingston House built in 1770. Named after William Hare, Viscount Ennismore and Earl of Listowel, in former times the gardens stretched the whole length of Prince's Gate. The Victorian garden was planted in 1870 and since the 1980s has been extensively restored and replanted. The garden has a central lawn edged with serpentine paths and dense shrubberies, and is enclosed on 3 sides by cast-iron railings, punctuated by 3 pairs of C19th Portland stone gate piers and four C19th corner piers. An ornamental urn commemorates actress Ava Gardner, who lived here.
Practical Information
| Site location | Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW7 1AJ |
| What3Words | ///tiger.option.admits |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, keyholders only |
| Special Conditions | No dogs other than working dogs. |
| Public Transport | Tube: South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly); Knightsbridge (Piccadilly). Bus: C1, 9, 10, 14, 52, 74, 414, 452. |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Ennismore Gardens is overlooked by a range of listed buildings including complete palatial C19th terraced houses. The gardens have been used as a film location for example for 'Maybe Baby' in 2000, and for an episode in the Hercule Poirot television series. There is a fountain in the garden and an ornamental urn commemorates the actress Ava Gardner who lived at Ennismore Gardens for 17 years. In the autumn of both 2009 and 2010 4,000 bulbs were planted and the north border has been re-designed. In 2006 the garden won Silver Medal in London Garden Society's 'large private squares' category and in 2009 and 2010 it was Highly Commended in the same category. Adjacent is the Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Church of the Assumption of All Saints, 1848-9, designed by Louis Vulliamy.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ270794 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Site Management | Robert Player |
| Dates | 1870 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Church of the Assumption of All Saints. LBII: North 1-9 & 60-65, 27 lamp standards; south 27-34 & Mews arch adjoining 37; west 10-25; east 39-59; 2 pairs gate piers on west & south, 4 corner 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 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Westminster |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Knightsbridge |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| 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
Rutland Gate South Garden and Upper Garden are two fairly narrow gardens in a long dog-legged enclave running off Kensington Road. The early C19th planned layout of this imposing range of terraced houses and their shared pleasure grounds survive virtually intact. The original piers and railings to Kensington Road survive but have been replaced elsewhere in the gardens, the South Garden bordered by fencing and concrete posts. Eresby House, a huge 1930s interloper occupies a site between the two gardens, and has a trim contemporary forecourt garden.
The central garden of Prince's Gardens is overlooked by remnants of the grand mid C19th terraces of the square, which was built on part of the former Brompton Park Boarding School. Imperial College of Science and Technology, founded in 1907 and which occupied land to the west of Exhibition Road, was expanding from 1953 onwards, and acquired land at Prince's Gardens. In 1963 it opened new student lodgings on the south side of Prince's Gardens, with Linstead Hall later built on the east side. These buildings have now been replaced as part of a scheme that included restoration of the gardens. The gardens comprise a lawn crossed by irregular paths skirting a grand central bed with an urn and contain fine mature plane trees and shrubberies.
At No.107 Prince's Gate, an opulent C19th garden square survives behind Septimus Warwick's c.1950 rebuilding of this portion of Prince's Gate as an apartment block. It can just be glimpsed through the stout wooden paling that surrounds it and comprises lawns, shrubberies and good mature trees. Adjacent is the All Saints Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Church (properly in Ennismore Gardens), a Romanesque church by L. Vulliamy built in 1848-9.
