Description
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.
Practical Information
| Site location | Old Church Street/South Parade |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW3 |
| What3Words | ///flags.sooner.trade |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly) then bus |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
By the early C17th, grand houses began to be established around the old village of Chelsea, among them those of Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More (Beaufort House). 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. Queen's Elm Square overlooks a garden enclosure, which has houses on three sides and Old Church Street as the fourth side. In 1928 the garden was described as 'very attractive', laid out as a lawn and enclosed by railings and hedge on the Church Street side and by low posts and rails on the other three sides. At that time it was provided for the use of lessees of the houses that overlooked it whose leases included a garden rate. A Committee of lessees maintained the garden out of the rates.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ267782 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0239 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1904-6 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Chelsea Park / Carlyle |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| 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
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.
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.
Chelsea Square is a private square that was laid out from 1810 as Trafalgar Square, although building proceeded slowly and was never completed around the central garden. In the early C20th the garden was leased to a tennis club. Renamed Chelsea Square, the south and eastern sides were rebuilt in the 1930s in neo-Georgian style. Along South Parade a line of mature trees set on a stepped plinth may survive from the former Trafalgar Gardens. The gardens today have lawn, shrubberies to railings, trees and flower beds.