Description
Formerly a burial ground for St Andrew's Holborn that closed for burials in 1850, the site was converted into public gardens in 1885 when St Pancras Borough Council acquired it along with a strip of land at the southern edge. St Andrew's Gardens are laid out as two rectangular lawns bisected by a central path with mature London planes and an ancient weeping ash. Many of the headstones were resited near the northern entrance but a few C18th chest tombs remain in situ in the gardens. A granite drinking fountain and a small red brick lodge date from the C19th.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | St Andrew's Holborn Burial Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | Gray's Inn Road/Wren Street |
| Postcode | WC1 |
| What3Words | ///stages.image.galaxy |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | locked at dusk |
| Public Transport | Tube: Chancery Lane (Central), King's Cross (Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Circle). Bus: 46 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2009 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The land was consecrated in 1754 as a new burial ground serving St Andrew's, Holborn (q.v.) when the parish churchyard was full. It closed for burials in 1850 and reopened as a public garden in 1885 when the St Pancras Borough Council acquired the site for £1,298, provided by the LCC. A 10 ft. wide strip of land along the southern edge used as a builder's yard was purchased from Earl Calthorpe for £800 and added. It is now laid out as two rectangular strips of grass bisected by a central path with mature London planes and an ancient weeping ash, flower beds andshrub, rose beds to the north. Many of the headstones have been resited near the northern entrance where a plaque commemorates the opening of the public garden by Lady Manners on 29 July 1885. A few C18th tomb chests remain in situ, flanking the path mostly with weathered inscriptions, but one is dated 1763. A granite drinking fountain presented by Miss Emily Bessie Orbell is also situated in the gardens and just within the entrance gate on Gray's Inn Road is a small, two-storey red brick lodge dating from the C19th; the gardens are overlooked on one side by the C19th terrace of Wren Street, Nos. 2-9 built 1824-30 and Nos.11-20 built c1840-50.
The rectangular site is surrounded by C19th cast iron railings and there are three entrances dating from c1885 when the gardens were laid out, two onto Gray's Inn Road and a third on Wren Street, each with gate piers and a pair of ornamental wrought-iron gates, one with an ornate overthrow. It is overlooked to the north by Trinity Court, a striking modernist block of c.1930 with white and blue railings, on the site of Holy Trinity Church of 1837 which closed in 1928. Large new shrub beds have been planted recently where derelict buildings once stood.
The rectangular site is surrounded by C19th cast iron railings and there are three entrances dating from c1885 when the gardens were laid out, two onto Gray's Inn Road and a third on Wren Street, each with gate piers and a pair of ornamental wrought-iron gates, one with an ornate overthrow. It is overlooked to the north by Trinity Court, a striking modernist block of c.1930 with white and blue railings, on the site of Holy Trinity Church of 1837 which closed in 1928. Large new shrub beds have been planted recently where derelict buildings once stood.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ307824 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.6612 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Site Management | LB Camden Parks & Open Spaces. Friends of St Andrew's Gardens |
| Dates | 1754; 1885 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: St Andrew's Gardens entrance gates, section of south side railings & monuments; Nos.2-9 Wren Street (Consecutive) and attached railings; Nos.11-20 Wren Street (Consecutive) and attached railings. |
| 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 | Bloomsbury |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character: Central London Area |
| Other LA Designation | Private Open Space |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
In 1739 John Wesley's first London base was a converted foundry in Moorfields. By the 1770s larger premises were needed and in 1778 the Mother Church of World Methodism Chapel was opened here. Behind the Chapel is a small graveyard with plain chest tombs and the monument of John Wesley with pyramid and urn. In the forecourt is an obelisk to Susannah Wesley erected in 1870 and the Wesley memorial with bronze statue of John Wesley erected on the centenary of his death in 1891. The forecourt was re-landscaped with granite setts and York paving in the 1990s but has notable mature London plane trees.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The Trustees of the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, purchased 56 acres in Lamb's Conduit Fields from Lord Salisbury and the Foundling Hospital, now Coram's Fields, was built by 1753. Samuel Pepys Cockerell was appointed to develop the estate surrounding the hospital, and his plan of 1790 had two squares. Mecklenburgh Square on the east was named after Queen Charlotte, formerly Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; it was designed by Joseph Kay with Cockerell as consultant, the houses built c1810-1820, the gardens laid out by Kay in 1809-10. The layout remains close to the original design with mature plane trees, ornamental trees, formal lawns and gravel paths.
The Trustees of the Foundling Hospital, established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram, purchased 56 acres in Lamb's Conduit Fields from Lord Salisbury and the Foundling Hospital, now Coram's Fields, was built by 1753. Samuel Pepys Cockerell was appointed to develop the estate surrounding the hospital, and his plan of 1790 had two squares. Mecklenburgh Square on the east was named after Queen Charlotte, formerly Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; it was designed by Joseph Kay with Cockerell as consultant, the houses built c1810-1820, the gardens laid out by Kay in 1809-10. The layout remains close to the original design with mature plane trees, ornamental trees, formal lawns and gravel paths.
Frederick Goodenough founded The Dominion Students' Hall Trust in 1931 to provide a collegiate home for male postgraduate students from overseas, with a sister Trust for female graduates established post WWII. London House was completed in 1933, a neo-Georgian building designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The northern and western ranges were completed to a simplified design after Baker's death in 1944. London House has an enclosed quadrangle entered through wrought-iron gates. The central garden is set to lawn with mixed beds on the perimeter and three specimen trees including a large mulberry. A sundial in the garden was unveiled by HRH The Queen on 10 November 2006 to mark the 75th anniversary of the college.
