Description
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Hans Place Garden was provided as an amenity for residents of the surrounding houses when the area was developed by Henry Holland from 1777 onwards for the Cadogan Estate. Hans Place is named after Sir Hans Sloane. At one time within the Manor of Chelsea, land in the area had been purchased by Sloane in 1712; on his death his estate was divided between his two daughters, the eastern part going to Elizabeth, becoming the Cadogan Estate on her marriage to Charles Cadogan. The oval wooded garden is railed with an inner oval of trees and shrubs around a lawn, and contains a variety of tree and shrub species. A memorial to the son of Herbert Spencer is set into the railings facing both into the garden and also onto the adjoining street where there is a drinking fountain.
Hans Place Garden was provided as an amenity for residents of the surrounding houses when the area was developed by Henry Holland from 1777 onwards for the Cadogan Estate. Hans Place is named after Sir Hans Sloane. At one time within the Manor of Chelsea, land in the area had been purchased by Sloane in 1712; on his death his estate was divided between his two daughters, the eastern part going to Elizabeth, becoming the Cadogan Estate on her marriage to Charles Cadogan. The oval wooded garden is railed with an inner oval of trees and shrubs around a lawn, and contains a variety of tree and shrub species. A memorial to the son of Herbert Spencer is set into the railings facing both into the garden and also onto the adjoining street where there is a drinking fountain.
Practical Information
| Site location | Hans Place |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW1 |
| What3Words | ///trains.ruby.refuse |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | By appointment only |
| Opening Times | Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: Knightsbridge (Piccadilly) |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.
Hans Place is within the area of 'Hans Town' developed by Henry Holland from 1777 onwards, named after Sir Hans Sloane. At one time within the Manor of Chelsea, land in the area had been purchased by Sloane in 1712; on his death his estate was divided between his two daughters, the eastern part going to Elizabeth, becoming the Cadogan Estate on her marriage to Charles Cadogan. The original architectural form has been encroached by later development from 1880s on although the distinctive form of Hans Place is retained, and the mature central gardens act as a unifying element. The railed garden is enclosed by privet hedge with an inner oval of trees and shrubs around a lawn, with lesser clumps of trees and shrubs. Mature trees include fine planes and chestnut, lime, acacia, catalpa, ginkgo; other species include flowering cherry, holly, hydrangea, laurels, laurustinus, lilac, malus, philadelphus, prunus, sorbus and thorn. A memorial to the son of Herbert Spencer in red granite with a broken column is set into the railings so that it faces into the garden and also onto street, with drinking fountain on the outside.
Hans Place is within the area of 'Hans Town' developed by Henry Holland from 1777 onwards, named after Sir Hans Sloane. At one time within the Manor of Chelsea, land in the area had been purchased by Sloane in 1712; on his death his estate was divided between his two daughters, the eastern part going to Elizabeth, becoming the Cadogan Estate on her marriage to Charles Cadogan. The original architectural form has been encroached by later development from 1880s on although the distinctive form of Hans Place is retained, and the mature central gardens act as a unifying element. The railed garden is enclosed by privet hedge with an inner oval of trees and shrubs around a lawn, with lesser clumps of trees and shrubs. Mature trees include fine planes and chestnut, lime, acacia, catalpa, ginkgo; other species include flowering cherry, holly, hydrangea, laurels, laurustinus, lilac, malus, philadelphus, prunus, sorbus and thorn. A memorial to the son of Herbert Spencer in red granite with a broken column is set into the railings so that it faces into the garden and also onto street, with drinking fountain on the outside.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ277792 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.4346 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1780s |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Nos. 14, 16-22 (consec.), 23-27 (consec.) Hans Place |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | Yes |
| NHLE grade | Grade II |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Hans Town |
| 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
This strip of garden was originally provided for the use of lessees of the adjoining Victorian houses. At one time within the Manor of Chelsea, land in the area was purchased by Sir Hans Sloane in 1712. On his death his estate was divided between his two daughters, the eastern part going to Elizabeth, becoming the Cadogan Estate on her marriage to Charles Cadogan. Cadogan began developing the 90-acre estate from the 1770s, which was to be called Hans Town. Once a railed enclosure, Pond Street Shrubbery remains a low raised oval pavement. It was planted with a number of plane trees and at one time had York stone crazy paving. In 2021 it was relandscaped and planted with over 630 native trees, shrubs and other plants as part of a rewilding initiative and given the name Heritage Forest.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Cadogan Place Gardens is a long rectangular site with Pont Street dividing a smaller north section from the main area to the south. The North Garden, formerly called Cadogan Square, was landscaped by Humphry Repton but his work was lost with the installation of the underground car park in 1978. The South Garden used to be the London Botanic Garden and has 300-year old mulberries; in the centre is the Hans Sloane Garden, created for the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show. Both areas are railed with boundary shrubberies enclosing lawns, with clumps of shrubbery and mature trees including London plane and ailanthus. There has been extensive enrichment of trees and shrubs since the late 1970s.
Cadogan Place Gardens is a long rectangular site with Pont Street dividing a smaller north section from the main area to the south. The North Garden, formerly called Cadogan Square, was landscaped by Humphry Repton but his work was lost with the installation of the underground car park in 1978. The South Garden used to be the London Botanic Garden and has 300-year old mulberries; in the centre is the Hans Sloane Garden, created for the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show. Both areas are railed with boundary shrubberies enclosing lawns, with clumps of shrubbery and mature trees including London plane and ailanthus. There has been extensive enrichment of trees and shrubs since the late 1970s.
These private communal gardens were provided for residents of the houses that overlook it, which were built in c.1886 as part of the Smith's Charity Estate development. The Trustees of the Estate began building from 1823, appointing George Basevi as architect in 1828, subsequently Henry Clutton from 1845, later succeeded by Charles James Freake from 1865. Prior to this the site of Lennox Gardens had been that of Prince's Cricket Club, itself laid out on former nursery gardens, which was forced to close when the area was redeveloped.