Description
Hampstead Square Gardens is a small triangular site within which a private garden has been created. A number of the surrounding houses date from the early C18th, and maps of 1762 show a rectangular grove here called The Square. The open space was used in the early C19th by strolling players and then by the Victoria Tea Gardens. In 1850 Christ Church was built here to serve the growing population of Hampstead, which had became too large for St John-at-Hampstead and the parish was sub-divided.
Practical Information
| Site location | Hampstead Square/Cannon Place, Hampstead |
|---|---|
| Postcode | NW3 |
| What3Words | ///potato.worked.builds |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | locked/private, but visible |
| Public Transport | Tube: Hampstead (Northern). London Overground: Hampstead Heath. Bus: 210, 268, 46, C11, 24, 168. |
| Research Updated | 1 August 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The garden has hedging around the boundary and a number of trees. Planting includes flowers and shrubs, with a seat and paved area. Christ Church was built in 1850 by Samuel Dawkes on the site of the old workhouse garden and was consecrated on 30 March 1852. The West Gallery was designed by Sir Geroge Gilbert Scott in 1860, later removed in the 1960s. Former Prime Minister Clement Attlee was married here in 1922. The surrounding houses date from the C18th and C19th. Next to the garden, on the eastern wall of what was formerly a terrace of four houses on Hampstead Square, is a plaque commemorating Newman Hall, a Congregational minister and hymn-writer, whose widow adapted two houses of the terrace into homes for the aged.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ264860 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0125 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Christ Church; Hampstead Square - No. 1 with attached railings; No. 2 with attached railings; No 4; No. 6 Vine House; Terrace comprising Nos 7, 7a, 8, 9; No. 12 Lawn House. |
| 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 | Hampstead Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | To be checked |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character: Hampstead & Highgate Ridge |
| Other LA Designation | Private Open Space |
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
Along Hampstead High Street and Heath Street are a number of landscaped areas with grass, shrubs and some trees, such as the central enclosure between The Mount and Heath Street, which have been maintained as public open space by Hampstead Borough Council since at least the late C19th/early C20th. They are now maintained by LB Camden. These green spaces are of interest in providing green banks to the busy high street.
Burgh House is a detached Queen Anne house built in 1703-4, now a meeting place and venue, and houses Hampstead Museum. From 1906-24 it was the home of art specialist and author Dr George Williamson, who in 1908 commissioned Gertrude Jekyll to design the garden behind the house. Now largely built over, all that remains from her design is the terrace with millstones set into the path. Following WWII Burgh House was purchased by Hampstead Borough Council and reopened in 1947.It was later leased to Burgh House Trust. In 1979 the sloping terraced garden had become derelict and was restored, planted with over 100 varieties of plants. Improvements to the garden continued in the 1980s with plants favoured by Jekyll introduced.
Fenton House is a late C17th merchant's house, which was left to the National Trust in 1952 by owner Lady Binning, together with a collection of porcelain. It had been given its present name after 1793 when the house was bought by merchant, Mr P I Fenton. A description of the garden in 1756 records that it had fruit trees and a kitchen garden. The layout today is not dissimilar to that of the 1860s with a lawn to the south with central gravel path leading to what was then the main entrance of the house. North of the house were terrace gardens with perimeter walks comprising a flower garden and walled kitchen garden.
