Description
This square was developed from 1889, and was originally called McKay Square. By 1928 it was renamed Nightingale Square, after Nightingale Lane, an old country lane so-called for the song of nightingales heard here. The central garden was for the use of residents of surrounding houses who paid an annual sum towards its maintenance. Largely grass, the garden has a boundary privet hedge and is planted with holly, London plane and other trees, with a small stone fountain in the centre.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | McKay Square |
|---|---|
| Site location | Nightingale Square |
| Postcode | SW12 8QN |
| What3Words | ///grass.vocal.exact |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: Balham (Northern) then walk. Rail: Wandsworth Common then walk. Bus: G1 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Nightingale Lane was once a country lane, so-called for the song of nightingales heard here. In the C19th there were a number of mansions in the area set in their own grounds and pastureland. One such was Fernside to the south of the current square, which was built in 1811 and had a bowling Green, ornamental lake and ice house. To the north-west was Ferndale House estate built 1897, the house now Nightingale House Jewish Home. The Square was developed from 1889, originally called McKay Square, with the north-west and north-east corners built first by George Freeman of West Hampstead. At the west end a lodge house was built in 1890 for Madame de Robiano and in 1897 the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Ghost was built, designed by Leonard Stokes, next to which was a convent. The central garden was for the use of tenants and then owners of surrounding houses who paid an annual sum (£1 in 1906) towards the maintenance of the garden. It is edged by privet hedge and has two entrance gates. It is planted with holly, London plane and other trees, and has a small stone fountain in the centre.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ281737 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.61 |
| Site Ownership | private (Nightingale Square Residents Association) |
| Site Management | Nightingale Square Garden Committee |
| Dates | 1889/90 |
| 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 | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Nightingale Lane |
| Tree Preservation Order | 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
Du Cane Court is an impressive Art Deco housing complex built in 1938, at that time the largest purpose-built private accommodation of this type in Europe. There are a range of different flats and maisonettes, and the communal gardens at the front were designed by Seyemon Kusumoto, one of which has a water feature comprising a pond and waterfall. One of the most enduring myths is that the building was used by the Luftwaffe as a visual navigation point during air raids in WWII, which may have led to the associated myth that Hitler had the building in mind for housing his officers in the event of a conquest of or accord with Britain. A Residents Association has been set up to maintain the estate.
Wandsworth Common is an important historic common, the remains of more extensive commonland that was part of the wastes of the Manors of Battersea and Wandsworth; by the C19th it had been sub-divided by the railway and encroached upon by building as London was developed. Attempts by local people to preserve the Common against further encroachment began in earnest in 1868 when appeals were made to the MBW to take over responsibility following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866, but this was initially unsuccessful. In 1870 a Common Defence Committee was set up, later to become the Wandsworth Common Preservation Society. In 1887 the Common was transferred to the MBW who carried out improvements including planting, paths layout, creation of the ornamental lakes from old gravel pits as well as the smaller Three Island Pond near Bolingbroke Grove. In 1898 the Common became the responsibility of the new LCC who in 1912 purchased an area of 20 acres of open land to extend the common.
Clapham Common is partly in Lambeth, partly in Wandsworth and was formerly two commons belonging to the neighbouring parishes. Its importance for recreation was early acknowledged and it was subject to landscape improvement from 1722 onwards. In 1836 a management committee secured a lease from the two lords of the manor. Following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866 the MBW assumed responsibility for a number of commons including Clapham, which it purchased in 1877, and introduced a programme of improvements and facilities. In 1890 a reproduction of the bandstand in the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Kensington was erected here.